BOSTON CALLING
TIME FOR GREY SEASON
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BC football needs to return to a power run game to beat NIU, B8
The twice-annual music festival will take over City Hall Plaza this weekend, A8
Berklee’s Grey Season ends festival tour at Boston Calling, B3
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Thursday, September 24, 2015
Vol. XCVI, No. 30
‘Rise’ turns tables with senior leaders as mentees Women’s Center provides mentors for female campus leaders BY CONNOR MURPHY For The Heights
DREW HOO / HEIGHTS EDITOR
To coincide with Pope Francis’ visit to the U.S., the leaders of Agape Latte set up a promotional cardboard cutout of the Pope in O’Neill Plaza.
Building a national Agape Latte brand Popular C21 program featuring stories of faith to spread to campuses nationwide BY JAMES LUCEY Heights Staff Sitting pleasantly whitewashed and well-landscaped on 110 College Rd., the Heffernan House is as charming as any of the residence-turned-administrative buildings unassumingly lining the street. A step through the front door and up a flight of stairs reveals a hallway teeming with activity that hardly resembles the building’s sleepy exterior—computer screens glow, telephones ring, the catering for an upcoming meeting arrives. It is obvious that something stimulating is underway. Surprisingly, this office is not the head-
quarters of a high-powered fundraising campaign or a makeshift trading floor. Instead, it is the main office space for Boston College’s popular Agape Latte program, which has recently assumed an atmosphere that closely resembles a startup with an ambitious goal in mind—expansion. Even the language used in the office seems to resemble that of a rapidly growing enterprise. “We have 10 schools set to launch, we’ve launched about 10 other schools, and we’re in talks with about 10 others,” said Elizabeth Campbell, a current fellow of BC’s The Church in the 21st Century Center (C21) and BC ’14. Campbell, who is tasked with
assisting in the expansion and promotion of the new Agape Latte franchise, said colleges such as Holy Cross, Babson, and the University of Dayton are among the program’s 30 partner schools. Agape Latte is a popular program among BC students sponsored by C21 featuring stories of faith from individuals of all backgrounds, and with a little assistance from an anonymous donor, has decided to move beyond its campus of origin. Expanding to universities across the country, the growth of the Agape Latte brand in its early stages has been a success and begun to work itself toward a nationwide “franchised” brand, intending to facilitate discussions of faith among young people. In many ways, the program’s success
See Agape Latte, A3
Council for women lands former Secretary of State for colloquium Madeleine Albright to speak in November lecture addressing female leadership BY SHANNON LONGWORTH For The Heights This fall, the first woman to become U.S. Secretary of State will speak at Boston College. On Nov. 4, Robsham Theater will host politician and diplomat Madeleine Albright for a colloquium sponsored by the Council for Women of Boston College (CWBC). In 1997, during the Clinton administration, Albright became Secretary of State. Before, during, and after her tenure as secretary, Albright strongly advocated for a wide range of issues, including the spread of democracy and military intervention in
developing countries. Before making her way to the top position in the Department of State, Albright was the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. In this role, she was well-known for her adamant stances on foreign affairs. Kathleen McGillycuddy, a 1971 graduate of Newton College of the Sacred Heart (which merged with BC in 1975), the chair of the CWBC, and the former chair of the BC Board of trustees, believes this strongwilled mindset fits well with the goals of the CWBC, a network of alumnae that uses programming to create a social atmosphere that encourages female agency.
“The goal is to advance the role of women as leaders at Boston College,” McGillycuddy said. The Council works with both undergraduate students and alumni as part of its mission to promote leadership among all women involved in the University’s community. Through mentorship, it provides the resources and teaches the skills any woman might need to reach her full potential after graduation, in the career-oriented world. The CWBC has also donated a significant amount to the University via fundraising events. “The Colloquium is meant to bring outstanding speakers to campus to address various aspects of women and leadership,”
See Albright, A3
On a college campus, freshmen have among the best opportunities to work with upperclassmen leaders. Once those freshmen become juniors and seniors and take on mentees of their own, however, they often lose the ability to seek advice from older mentors. This week , the Women’s Center launched Rise, an initiative aiming to fill that void for women in leadership positions at Boston College. The Women’s Center already runs several mentorship programs for freshman girls. Duo, one of the most popular offerings, matches a freshman with a sophomore, junior, or senior mentor who helps smooth the adjustment to college life. Rise, however, is a first-of-its-kind program. It seeks to match each group of seven to nine seniors with a mentor. The mentors are nine of BC’s most visible and influential female faculty members, including philosophy professor Kerry Cronin, associate professor of political science Kathleen Bailey, and Vice President for Planning and Assessment Kelli Armstrong. Director of the Women’s Center Katie Dalton said that the concept for Rise was first formulated a number of years ago in a faculty committee convened by Vice Provost of Faculties Pat Deleeuw to explore data on women’s self-esteem at BC. The committee analyzed data taken from surveys administered by the Office of Institutional Research, Planning, and Assessment every other year at freshman orientation and senior exit interviews, and found that women left BC with lower self-esteem, whereas men’s self-esteem grew. “The data said that a lot of women had very low self-esteem, and we had some idea why, but we wanted to find
out more and help fix it,” Dalton said. One of the suggestions made by the committee was the creation of a mentorship program for junior and senior women, many of whom had leadership roles but felt they lacked a guide themselves. The initiative could also seek to explain the troubling self-esteem data. The program is intended for juniors and seniors, but because of extremely high demand and a wish to include as many seniors as possible, Dalton and other Rise organizers chose to make this year’s group of students exclusive to the Class of 2016. Juniors who applied will be given priority for inclusion in next year’s Rise class. Although applicants included some of the most involved students on campus, Dalton said the student participants are a very diverse group. “We had some people apply who are seniors and said ‘I haven’t done anything at BC, and I want to do something before I leave,’” Dalton said. The core of the program is a monthly dinner, where each mentor will meet with her small group, but mentors can decide on any programming outside of the dinners. Each dinner has a specific theme—the first semester will explore self-esteem, portrayals of women in media, and the BC social culture, including a talk by Cronin and a viewing of University of Houston professor Brene Brown’s TED Talk, “The Power of Vulnerability.” After Christmas, the themes will be based on feedback from program participants. One idea is to talk in-depth about social pressure and its effects on women in particular. “Each dinner feels like a big project itself,” Dalton said. In addition to the dinners, the group of nine mentors will meet each month for lunch to discuss Rise’s trajectory and some of the main points brought up in the small groups. “They are a group of such passionate, driven, intelligent women, and we are lucky to have them as a part of this
See Rise, A3
SARAH HODGENS / HEIGHTS STAFF
The Women’s Center this week launched Rise, a program for female leaders to be mentored.
From Harvard, a most unconventional candidate for 2016 Meet the Harvard Law professor who wants to be president for a week—and then resign BY BENNET JOHNSON Metro Editor For the past two years, Lawrence Lessig has led hundreds of people in a 185-mile walk across the state of New Hampshire in the middle of January. Lessig and hundreds of members of the New Hampshire Rebellion—a crosspartisan group dedicated to getting big money out of politics—have twice walked
for nearly two weeks through snow, ice, and sub-zero temperatures to raise awareness about corruption in politics. The event began in 2014 to continue the work of New Hampshire-native Doris “Granny D” Haddock, who walked across the country when she was 88 years old with a sign across her chest advocating for campaign finance reform. Lessig views his message in step with hers.
Speaking in front of a crowd of over 4,000 people at the New Hampshire Democratic Convention last Saturday, the Harvard Law professor pointed to his walks across the state as motivation to enter the 2016 presidential race. “I was able to emphasize the way in which that experience convinced me that this experience is an issue Republicans, Democrats, and Americans alike care about,” Lessig said in an interview with The Heights on Sunday. Presidential candidates do not typically promise to vacate the White House once they get in office, but Lessig said that
is exactly what he will do as he seeks the 2016 Democratic nomination. If elected, the quirky Harvard professor explained he would only serve as president as long as it takes to pass a series of electoral reforms he is promoting through Congress. He will then immediately resign and let his vice president take over office. His second in command has yet to be named, though his website features a vice president voting poll featuring the likes of Jon Stewart, Sheryl Sandberg, and Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren. “What I’m trying to do is something
a little different than the standard candidate,” Lessig said. “I’m trying to get people to reflect on the fact that all of the issues they are reacting to are things we can’t get until we deal with this more fundamental issue of fixing our democracy first.” Lessig announced his candidacy earlier this month after vowing to run if he could raise $1 million in a crowdfunding campaign by Labor Day. He has taken a leave of absence from his tenured position at Harvard Law School to focus on
See Lessig, A8
THE HEIGHTS
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things to do on campus this week
The “John La Farge and the Recovery of the Sacred” exhibit is now open, featuring more than 85 paintings, stained glass windows, and works on paper by the American artist. The exhibit, sponsored by the McMullen Museum, is on display in Devlin Hall, Room 108.
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Thursday, September 24, 2015
Join professors from the Boston College Law School for a Constitutional Interpretation Discussion Panel. The talk will be on Thursday, Sept. 24 at noon in the Barat House on the Newton campus. Lunch will be served. RSVP at clough.center@bc.edu.
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Enjoy traditional Celtic music at the Concert of Irish Fiddle Music, Songs, and Stories, featuring Rose Clancy with Eugene and John Clancy. The concert will be on Thursday, Sept. 24 at 6:30 p.m. in the Theology and Ministry Library Auditorium on Brighton.
NEWS Banned books to be displayed in O’Neill BRIEFS B N R For The Heights
BC grad to meet Pope Francis Connecticut governor Dannel Malloy, BC ’77 and BC Law ’80, was invited to the White House to attend Mass and greet Pope Francis on the pope’s first visit to the United States. Malloy has noticed the church becoming more conservative over the years, he said, and thinks that it is an exciting time for Catholics. “I have to tell you it’s pretty thrilling,” Malloy said to NBC Connecticut. “I get to thinking, how often will I get invited to the White House by the president to meet the pope? It’s a little different.” To address the pope’s visit, Boston College is hosting a fourday conference regarding his environmental encyclical next week. Speakers will include Massachusetts State Senator Ed Markey, BC ’68 and BC Law ’72, and John Holdren, a White House assistant to the President.
Faculty checks in on freshmen Today, Thomas Mogan, the dean of students, has begun a House Calls program in which members of the faculty check in with freshman students to see how their first weeks at Boston College have been. Students who choose to participate will be entered in a drawing to win an iPad, among other prizes. The data collected at the meeting will then be collated and examined for trends, Mogan said. “The main goal is to connect each first year student with some BC staff members that they otherwise might not have met,” Mogan said in an email.
Catholicism in Argentina In The Catholic Church and Argentina’s Dirty War, sociology professor Gustavo Morello, S.J., writes on the relationship between the Catholic church and political violence in Argentina during the war. Morello, a Jesuit priest from Argentina, focuses on the kidnapping and torture of American priest James Weeks and five seminarians in 1976 in Argentina. This war, in which 15,000 people were killed, was an attempt by the Argentinian government to rid the country of communist subversives. In the book, Morello discusses how the Catholic church used theology to justify the violence happening in the country during the Dirty War. He was initially interested in this subject because it had not been previously studied. Morello wanted to further understand the relationship between the Catholic people in Argentina at this time and the political players, he said to the Office of News and Public Affairs. Morello has previously been published in the Latin American Research Review and Politics and the Religious Imagination. This is his first published book. “I wanted to show how victims understood their Catholicism, how torturers justified their actions, and how the Church rationalized its attitude,” Morello said to the Office of News and Public Affairs.
In 1965, Naked Lunch by William Burroughs was banned in the city of Boston after the Boston Superior Court labeled it as obscene. The decision was overturned in 1966. This, along with several other banned books, like War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells, will be on display in O’Neill Library next week. From Sunday, Sept. 27 until Saturday, Oct. 3, O’Neill Library will present a display of almost 100 banned books from the Library’s collection in honor of Banned Books Week, a national event promoted by the American Library Association. This is Boston College’s first time participating in the event, which has been held annually since 1982. The display in O’Neill, which was designed and created entirely by the Access Services Marketing Committee, has been in the works since June, according to committee co-chair Cindy Jones. The event is meant to increase awareness about freedom of speech and freedom of the press, especially in terms of literature. Throughout the 2015-16 academic year, the Access Services Marketing Committee plans to put together more displays in O’Neill Library. The committee is currently hoping to compile an exhibit of books recommended over the years by Rev. William B. Neenan, S.J., a former dean of faculties at BC who passed away in June 2014. The committee is currently waiting for approval before beginning this project.
Last week, Katie Lamirato, MCAS ’18, sat with several other students, Dean of Students Thomas Mogan, and his wife, on Mogan’s back patio for dinner. She and the other students met his family and talked about their personal lives over lasagna, Mogan’s favorite dinner, until the citronella candles could no longer keep the bugs away, and the group went inside. After joining the Boston College community in January as the new dean of students, Mogan set out to better understand the BC community, in part by initiating the Dinner with the Dean program, which kicked off this fall. At the dinner, Mogan began by introducing himself to the students so that they could get to know him a little better. He then invited the students to go around and introduce themselves and say what their highs and lows have been at BC. Mogan said he does this
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The Banned Books Week event will take place from Sunday, Sept. 27 until Saturday, Oct. 3 in O’Neill Library. Through social media, BC students can become engaged in the Banned Books Week event by taking a picture with one of the banned books in front of the Booking Wall in O’Neill Library. Once shared on Twitter or Facebook with the hashtag #BCReadsBannedBooks, students will be entered to win one of five prizes. The books in the display are of a variety of genres, including science fiction, historical fiction, and fantasy. The books have been challenged or banned over the years for a number of reasons. The
so all of the students have an opportunity to talk. “I think that part of the reason why they may want to come is they may have something that they want to share with me and they have an insight that I would love to hear,” he said. “Or they may have a new perspective on BC that I haven’t heard yet.” Usually, the conversation revolves around these highs and lows—many students have similar feelings and can offer each other some advice. Part of Mogan’s goal, he said, is to help the students get to know each other. He wanted to immerse himself in BC culture, he said, in order to learn as much as possible about students and their experiences. “The students seem to be hungry for authentic conversation,” he said. Mogan explained that his position would naturally bring him in close contact with several groups of students on campus, such as the Undergraduate Government and cultural organizations, but he
Call of the Wild by Jack London, for example, has been challenged for being too bloody, violent, and dark, said Ashley Chasse, the Access Services Marketing Committee co-chair. Jones said it is usually a parent or group of parents concerned about a particular book’s topics or themes that are involved in the effort to have it banned. “That would go something like this: a parent complains, the school librarian/teacher stops reading it, the school committee meets and decides what to do,”
Jones said in an e-mail. “If they allow the book, it’s only been challenged. If they agree with the parent and remove the book from the school classrooms and library, it’s been banned.” The Banned Books Week event also provides the library with an opportunity to showcase a portion of its expansive collection of books. All books presented in the display are available in the library for checkout. “We have a great collection of books—not just those for academics,” Chasse said.
wanted to expand that scope. He hopes students will come to his home for dinner to enjoy a relaxed conversation and good food. “I also wanted to throw out an invitation to the general student body,” he said. “One, so that they could get to meet me, but then two, so that I could again meet them and learn as much as I could about their experiences here.” Previously, Mogan and his wife worked at Villanova, where they taught some classes and would occasionally have groups of students over for dinner. But now, at BC, Mogan extends the offer to all students to come dressed casually and get to know Mogan and his family. “One of my biggest goals here is to show that the Dean of Students Office has a human side to it,” he said. “So part of my motivation in holding these dinners is to really reach students on a one-on-one basis to let them know that we’re here to help and support them, and that I’m a person that they can come and talk to.”
Lamirato signed up for this first dinner because she appreciated that Mogan was reaching out to the students to get to know them better. “Dean Mogan and his wife were so welcoming that I quickly fell into a sense of comfort and belonging,” she said. “Dean Mogan and Mrs. Mogan treated us as if we were their own children. It honestly felt like a home away from home.” Emma Jordi, MCAS ’18, who also attended last week’s dinner, said she felt very comfortable and relaxed at Mogan’s home. Jordi is studying abroad from South Africa, and she was hoping to meet more American students when she signed up for the dinner. Mogan said that he has enjoyed the dinners and hopes to continue them every semester. Some of the students have since followed up with Mogan, which he believes shows the dinners are achieving what he hoped they would: allowing members BC community to connect with one another.
News Tips Have a news tip or a good idea for a story? Call Carolyn Freeman, News Editor, at (617) 552-0172, or email news@bcheights.com. For future events, email a detailed description of the event and contact information to the News Desk. Arts Events For future arts events, email a detailed description of the event and contact information to the Arts Desk. Call Ryan Dowd, Arts and Review Editor, at (617) 552-0515, or email arts@bcheights.com. Clarifications / Corrections The Heights strives to provide its readers with complete, accurate, and balanced information. If you believe we have made a reporting error, have information that requires a clarification or correction, or questions about The Heights standards and practices, you may contact John Wiley, Editorin-Chief, at (617) 552-2223, or email eic@bcheights.com. CUSTOMER SERVICE Delivery To have The Heights delivered to your home each week or to report distribution problems on campus, contact Chris Stadtler, General Manager at (617) 552-0547. Advertising The Heights is one of the most effective ways to reach the BC community. To submit a classified, display, or online advertisement, call our advertising office at (617) 552-2220 Monday through Friday.
CORRECTIONS This correction is in reference to Vol. XCVI, no. 29. The article titled “O’Neill library features selected works from Irish writer William Butler Yeats” incorrectly identified John B. Yeats’ book A Portrait of Yeats as A Portrait of Years. The same article incorrectly quoted an excerpt as being from chapter 14 of The Celtic Twilight. The excerpt is from chapter 14 of Per Amica Silencia Lunae.
09/21/15 - 09/22/15
Monday, Sept. 21
Tuesday, Sept. 22
12:48 p.m. - A report was filed regarding found property in O’Neill Plaza.
4:52 p.m. - A report was filed regarding ongoing harrassment in a Lower residence. A detective is investigating.
7:48 p.m. - A report was filed regarding medical assistance provided to a student who was transported to a medical faciliy from Shea Field via police cruiser.
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6:13 p.m. - A report was filed regarding medical assistance provided to a student who was transported to a medical faciliy from Campanella Way via police cruiser.
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Dean Mogan connects with students over dinner B S R Heights Staff
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7:30 p.m. - A report was filed regarding harassment in Duchesne East/West.
—Source: The Boston College Police Department
What is the most creative themed party you’ve gone to? “A beach themed one with legit sand and palm trees.” —Parker Montgomery, MCAS ’18
“G.I. Joes and Army Hoes.” —Gianina Chua, MCAS ’18
“It was a ‘semi-formal,’ but you got to wear, like, sneakers with a dress.” —Caroline Kupersmith, LSOE ’18 “I’ve never been to a themed party.” —Michelle Fitzpatrick, MCAS ’18
The Heights
Thursday, September 24, 2015
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CWBC to host Albright Albright, from A1 Mary Crane, Rattigan professor of English, said in an email. “They especially hope that students at BC will be inspired by these speakers.” Looking at Albright’s previous achieve-
“A lot has changed since she took on that role as Secretary of State, and a lot hasn’t.” Drew hoo / heights editor
Rev. Sam Sawyer, S.J. and BC ’00, speaks at an Agape Latte event in Hillside Cafe this past October about his online start-up.
With Agape Latte growth, a move to several secular universities Agape Latte, from A1
and growth at other schools resembles the positive reception it received in its initial days at BC, according to Karen Kiefer, associate director of BC’s Church in the 21st Century Center. “Slowly but surely, the student board grew from 3 to 10 to 20 to 40 and now we’re at 68,” Kiefer said. “The program just really started to grow and a couple of years ago [2012] we had an anonymous donor come forward and say, ‘This program has promise, so apply for a grant and we’d like to see if you can franchise Agape Latte in different universities nationally, but don’t just go to your Jesuit network. We want to see if you can start the conversation outside of BC.’” With this, Agape Latte used its momentum on campus to network into unfamiliar territory and move beyond a community bounded by BC’s borders. “We needed to take our time to figure out, ‘How do you do it?’” Kiefer said of the program’s first steps. “We’ve never franchised this before. How can we package it and have people understand it?” With a little imagination and some creative marketing materials, however,
Agape Latte began to build a substantial and highly individual brand and aesthetic intending to pass on a consistent set of values to wherever the franchise moved. The importance of a consistent brand aesthetic between all of its members is a large concern with Agape Latte, as behind the aesthetic is the intention to sustain the essential values of the program, the conversation about and the intersection of faith and life. “It has to be consistent—we’ve trademarked it, we’ve copyrighted it,” Kiefer said. “They have to use the right logo, the right typeface and they have to run everything by us. But, we encourage each university to embrace it, we say. Did it start at BC? Yes. Are we helping them out? Yes.” Concerns regarding religious distance were also a factor to consider when expanding beyond Jesuit and Catholic universities. Those involved feel that the Catholic ideology behind the program helps to sustain a greater mission—to encourage an open discourse about faith and religion. “Everyone has a need for conversation, and even non-Catholic and non-Jesuit
schools see that need for that conversation,” said Campbell of the response of non-denominational schools. “Students want to have that conversation.” The future of Agape Latte continues to be ambitious and, among expansion to even more schools in the US and internationally, includes building a network of stories through the creation of a Agape Latte video database. “We encourage [other schools] to videotape their speakers just like we do, because we’re building a big video database in order to share each other’s stories,” Kiefer said. “So it’s like this big storytelling network—Agape Latte is faith TED Talks.” Ultimately, there appears to be virtually no limit to the possibilities of this faith and conversation centered “startup.” The goal, however, is simple: to take the social taboo out of faith and religious discourse, while inspiring the next generation to explore the power of religion. “Our great hope is that it gets as many young people in our world talking about the relevance of God working in their lives,” Kiefer said. “We have big, big dreams for Agape.” n
—Kathleen McGillycuddy, chair of the Council on Women in Business ments and current projects, McGillycuddy and her fellow members of the board decided that she would be the ideal choice as speaker for this event because she embodies the strong, positive influence they wanted to have on the school community as a whole—not just females. “She is so directly involved,” McGillycuddy said, referring to Albright’s continued position in world affairs. One of the priorities for a speaker is someone who remains engaged. Albright exhibited such involvement in the work she has done in the U.S. and abroad since the end of her term in 2001. This
involves her current role as chairwoman of the Albright Stonebridge Group, an international business advisory firm, as well as founder of Albright Capital Management. Born in Prague, her family fled thenCzechoslovakia 10 days after it was invaded by the Nazis in 1939. They escaped the conflict, and soon her father, a Czech diplomat, was granted political asylum in the U.S. She continued her education overseas, attending Wellesley College and Columbia University, and later began her political career as a White House staffer. In 2008, she began documenting her childhood as well as parts of her political life in books including, Read My Pins: Stories from a Diplomat’s Jewel Box and Prague Winter: A Personal Story of Remembrance and War: 1937-1948. In presenting an inaugural speaker with such experience, the Council hopes to interest a variety of people, McGillycuddy explained. The colloquium will be open to the public, so members of the greater Boston area who are interested can also attend, she said. “I would love to hear her perspective of advice she would give women today. A lot has changed since she took on that role as Secretary of State, and a lot hasn’t,” McGillycuddy said. n
Mentorship for seniors Rise, from A1 program,” said Teresa Sullivan, LSOE ’17, who is involved with Rise through the Women’s Center and sat in on one of the mentors’ lunches. Rise does not emphasize preparing women for their professional lives after BC. Dalton said that its purpose instead is to facilitate discussions about personal issues and experiences, specifically by creating a close group environment in which some of the University’s most accomplished members can air their
thoughts and feelings. This year’s program is just a pilot, and Rise is only expected to grow. “The ultimate goal is to serve as many students as possible,” Dalton said. The Women’s Center would b e open to expanding Rise to hundreds of students if the first year is successful and enough mentors and students are interested. “Hopefully, students who participate in this program gain confidence, a stronger sense of self, and a community of women who support and care about them,” Sullivan said. n
The Heights
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Thursday, September 24, 2015
Boston in a box: new business ships iconic items across nation By Kelly Coleman For The Heights
Photo courtesy of the bean in a box
Rich and Nancy Porter’s business puts together care packages of Boston-themed items.
When Rich and Nancy Porter’s niece left Boston and went off to college last year, the couple wanted to send her a little piece of home. They put together a care package full of iconic Boston-themed items, and “The Bean In a Box” was born. Inspired by an online company that sent Baltimorethemed care packages and fueled by their entrepreneurial spirit, the Porters developed an online business where people can send customized care packages full of products and trinkets that are uniquely Boston. The business’s mission is to “make someone wicked happy,” the couple said. Customers have a variety of ways to pack these boxes with hometown pride. Users select the five-item or 10-item option for their package. Then, they are prompted to select items from the “Awesomeness Inside” tab, an extensive list of options to put in the box. The menu includes items ranging from Fenway stadium peanuts, to Dropkick Murphy bumper stickers, to Sam Adams coasters. This summer, the website offered a seasonal “Free Brady” T-shirt as a timely option for New England Patriots fans. Other seasonal items will rotate in, such
as maple leaf pops for the fall. In addition, The Bean In a Box hopes to partner with a local chocolate shop as the weather gets cooler and the likelihood of chocolate melting decreases. Rich Porter reports that some items get more website traffic than others. One option on the “Awesomeness Inside” list is a DVD comprised of classic Boston movie scenes, which apparently has not been hugely popular, Porter explained. On the other hand, a consistent crowd favorite is the iconic, bright red lobster hat. “People absolutely love that thing,” Porter said. Customers can add a personalized message to the package’s recipient before shipping their package. Porter recalls the first Bean In a Box order was from a girlfriend to her boyfriend, and included Cape Cod chips, peanuts, and several cards with romantic phrases only die-hard Bostonians can appreciate, such as, “You Make Me Feel Wicked Good.” The Bean In a Box also provides warm memories of home to deployed members of the armed forces, Porter said. There is a standing 10 percent discount off box prices for family members of military personnel, as well as an ongoing monthly box giveaway for a deployed member of the service. While many people send their boxes
of Boston-themed swag to a loved one who has moved away from the area, Rich Porter said that “The Bean In a Box” has garnered a lot of attention from local businesses, who reportedly use the boxes at sales meetings or as welcome gifts to new employees from out of town. The Porters hope to expand their reach to Boston-area universities, as the boxes make for ideal care packages for college students. “We would love for it to grow,” Porter said. “It’s kind of taken on a life of it’s own.” While the Porters say neither of them come from a business background, learning the idiosyncrasies of managing a business has been fun for the couple. “We’re learning a ton,” Porter said. “We’re reading a ton—talking to folks and figuring it out. It’s a really interesting community.” In addition to learning the business on the fly, Rich and Nancy juggle managing The Bean In a Box with working their day jobs and raising two young children. The couple hopes that their growing business can serve as an example for their children. “It can definitely be a challenge, but it’s also a lot of fun,” Porter said. “And we’re trying hard to set an example for our girls that if you believe in something, you work hard and do your best. It’s been such a blast.” n
Allston’s newest market offers personalized shopping experience By Sarah Moore Asst. Metro Editor A new and inviting aroma is spreading across Allston. Its source is a small, brick building not unlike the other stores and shops that make up the commercial element of the area. From a space that housed a Staples until last spring comes the new smells of baking baguettes and crusty breads, just a few feet from the nearest T Stop. But a baker y isn’t the only new advancement in Allston. The neighborhood can now eat and drink at a gourmet deli, a fresh-pressed juice bar, a new, hand-rolled sushi spot, and a from-scratch pizza parlor—all under the same roof. On the corner of Harvard and Commonwealth Avenues, bfresh is redefining how residents shop. “We differentiate ourselves on a lot of different levels, but first and foremost it’s a brand-new shopping experience,” said Dan Attella, the fresh market’s team captain. Although bfresh hosted its grand opening just one week ago, the store has already drawn a crowd—everyone from Allston-Brighton millennials to suburban residents, all curious as to what the 10,000 square-foot space has in store. While bfresh can be most simply described as Allston’s newest grocery store, it goes beyond that, placing a heavy emphasis on fresh and quality offerings housed in a fun environment. Attella and the market’s team members
hope that the neighborhood sees its potential to be so much more. “As far as our offerings, we try to keep it as broad as possible in such a small square-foot allotment,” Atella said. “It is really a one-stop shop. You can find things from paper towels and face wash all the way down to a freshly made stir-fry meal or pizza made right in front of you.” The store’s concept is concentrated on breaking certain standards of the typical shopping experience, where customers may have to choose between quality and convenience or cost and health benefits. In addition to the variety of in-house prepared food options, which range from an extensive selection of Boar’s Head products at the deli to a vibrant, make-your-own salad bar, it also maintains a seasonal stock of fresh and organic produce as well. Bfresh hopes to make cooking and eating more exciting, a concept that is rooted within its “Little Kitchen,” a host of in-house prepared food stations that occupy a large portion of the market. Composed of a juice bar, a sandwich bar, pizza and pasta stations, a rotisserie grill, and an Asian wok station, among others, the Little Kitchen is dishing out unique prepared foods that are made in front of the customers as they place their orders. The Little Kitchen’s offerings range from Mushroom Pasta, featuring freshmade noodles, button and oyster mushrooms, onion, garlic, cream, parmesan cheese, and arugula, to its Cajun chicken salad with mixed greens, chicken, avo-
cado, red onion, tomato, black olives, hard boiled egg , and a vinaigrette dressing. “Bfresh is just really all-encompassing in terms of what we’re shooting for—it’s a change in lifestyle,” Attella said. “We want to really help our customers live a fresh and healthy lifestyle and I think the name is very indicative of that.” Although the market is an affiliate of Stop & Shop—both are housed within the same parent company, Royal Ahold NV—it bears little resemblance to its counterpart. Bfresh is loosely tied with the Royal Ahold NV brand, but functions as a separate entity. Bfresh hopes to create something new, unlike traditional grocery shopping experiences to which U.S. shoppers are accustomed. The Allston store is the brand’s flagship, though another location is already in the works. The plans for expansion are still evolving, and will focus on developing the brand in another location besides the Boston area. “The future is looking very bright for us,” Attella said, noting a few of the store’s elements that make the bfresh experience so unique. “We like to highlight our really great prices, that we are right in your neighborhood, and that we have awesome teammates that can’t wait to help the customers.” Bfresh prides itself in its excited and educated employees, known as “Team Mates,” who are just as integral to bfresh’s vision of the shopping experience as its high quality offerings.
Photo courtesy of bfresh
The Stop & Shop affiliate opened its flagship location to customers in Allston last Friday. “When you come into the store it should fe el like a f un environment—there’s a lot of good music playing, there’s a lot of laughter going on between the teammates and the customers,” Attella said. The customers response to all that bfresh has to offer has been positive so far. Attella noted that customers have been attracted to the accessibility of the Allston location and the ease and options that come with the Little Kitchen prepared foods.
“We really are targeting everyone as our main customers, and they have been absolutely fantastic. The folks that are in our neighborhood, in the Allston and Brighton area, are just really loving the store,” Attella said. “They love the feel, and they love the offerings that we have as well.” With no other similar stores in Allston, let alone the Boston area, bfresh hopes that it can fill an open niche and become a neighborhood staple. n
From here to Milwaukee: the curious incident of the filth in Boston Archer Parquette Most of my summer was spent interning for hip-hop pioneer Robby Muffins, the innovative genius behind hit singles such as “Well-Ironed Slacks” and “Bullets Flying, Snitches Crying.” During this heart-poundingly-intense internship, I ended up spending some time in downtown Milwaukee, 45 minutes away from my hometown. While Robby, or as I call him, Mr. Muffins, performed to sold-out crowds, I took in the sights and sounds of that beer-loving city. While in Milwaukee, I couldn’t stop myself from comparing it to the city I write weekly, Hemingway-esque columns about. I must admit that Boston has Milwaukee beat on a few things: history, architecture, monuments, Archer Parquette living there for the majority of the year, an ocean, etc. But Milwaukee’s downtown takes the victory when it comes to cleanliness. Stereotypically, you might think Milwaukee is full of drunk, morbidly obese people who litter the streets with beer cans and human waste, but that’s not true at all. There is, at almost all times, almost no litter on the
sidewalk. Comparatively, Boston is full of trash: cigarette butts, grocery bags filled with toilet paper, rotting food, and small homeless encampments. When faced with this difference, my keen journalistic mind demanded that I investigate further. I rolled up my sleeves, unbuttoned the top button of my shirt while still wearing a tie, and started sweating profusely. Sweat poured down my face as I pounded the pavement, confronting local politicians and asking the tough questions. I was so persistent the folks started calling me, “that goofy-looking kid who won’t shut up.” I wore that title like a badge of honor. After my investigation, I arrived at a conclusion. Milwaukee has a municipal program in place called Clean Sweep Ambassadors. City workers walk around picking up litter every day as well as power-washing sidewalks and maintaining constant cleanliness to promote tourism downtown. I was so happy to have figured this out I leapt with joy, sweat flying from my brow and soaking a small family that happened to be walking by me. Now, I know we’s just simple country folk out’s der in the heartland. We’s ain’t no nothing like you book-learned eastern fellers, but I been thinkin and I thunk that Milwaukee gots themselves a pretty
darn-tootin good idear. Upon my August return to campus, I ran to my office and immediately wrote a 1,000-word column that solved every problem that had ever existed in the City of Boston. After writing this beautiful column I rejoiced for exactly three seconds before being gripped with paranoia. My hands shook with fear as I opened my laptop and googled “Clean Ambassadors Boston.” It turns out Boston has an almost identical program to that of Milwaukee, called “Clean and Hospitality Ambassador Service.” All of my condescending advice regarding cleaning up the city meant nothing, it was just rambling, pseudo-Steinbeckian trash. If I had published that column, I would have looked like a nincompoop. If there’s anything I can’t abide in this world, it’s a nincompoop. Filled with fury, I stood up and flipped my desk over, sending it tumbling across the room. With a cloud of failure hanging over my head, I walked back to Walsh Hall to sleep my pain away. I slipped my headphones in and listened to “My Least Favorite Life” while making uncomfortably intense eyecontact with everyone who passed me. When I entered Walsh Hall, blinding flashbulbs lit up the lobby and the shutter click of paparazzi cameras filled the air. I waved a hand in front of my face, shooing
the paparazzi away. Ducking into the elevator, I took a slow and dramatic breath while leaning my head against the back of the elevator and closing my eyes. A ceiling tile on the top of the elevator was pushed out of the way by something above, revealing the elevator shaft. I looked up and saw a few deformed monkey-men scattering behind cover. Then a foot appeared through the hole and my personal editor, Niles Corbitt, dropped down into the elevator. “What’s going on Archer?” Niles asked casually as he dropped into the elevator. “I tried writing a column that had ideas about how to fix problems in Boston,” I explained. “When I last went there I saw so much junk in the streets, litter and refuse and homeless people on almost every corner. I thought maybe I could at least write about it, maybe throw out some ideas. But my ideas are crap. I have no idea how to fix the problems in Boston. My column was terrible. Nobody knows anything, Niles.” Niles looked at me for a moment. He nodded and crossed his arms over his chest. “Archer,” he said. “Yes?” “You smell terrible,” he said. “Seriously, you smell awful. It’s like being in an elevator with someone who died two weeks ago. I think my health is being put in jeopardy just
being in this close a proximity to someone who smells as bad as you do right now. Go take a shower right this minute or I’m never speaking to you again.” I lowered my head in shame and nodded. As the elevator doors opened and I began to slink my way to my room, Niles stopped me. “Your column this week better have a definitive point and be somewhat uplifting instead of ending with you leaving a freaking elevator after failing to write a socially relevant column and being told you smell bad.” I sighed and turned around, “Yeah. Like what?” “End with a quote,” Niles said. “Like this: ‘Sometimes I go about in pity for myself, and all the while a great wind carries me across the sky.’ Maybe you’re not going to change the world now, but don’t feel bad about it. With every passing year we get better at whatever it is we do and eventually, with enough will and work, we can achieve great things.” “What was that quote, Henry James?” “No. The Sopranos, idiot.”
Archer Parquette is an editor for The Heights. He can be reached at metro@bcheights.com.
The Heights
Thursday, September 24, 2015
A5
Dates and Olives dishes out fresh Mediterranean fare Exploring Boston by bike
By Collin Couch Heights Staff
Bostonians have the opportunity to taste Food Network-quality dishes at Dates and Olives, where chef, owner, and former Chopped contestant Renita Mendonca is dishing out fresh Mediterranean food in Brighton, Mass. Prior to opening the restaurant, Mendonca was inspired by the idea of cooking with natural, organic ingredients. Growing up in India, Mendonca’s interest in food began to encompass Indian flavors and techniques, and branched out to various cuisines . Mendonca’s widespread interests have one thing in common: the food must be nutritious and unprocessed. “I’ve worked in various restaurants across the globe, and I’ve always wanted food that was fresh, healthy, not sitting around—stuff that people can eat every day,” Mendonca said. Mendonca entered into the restaurant and catering business with this health-conscientious approach, becoming incredibly successful and achieving culinary positions at upscale hotel chains such as the Hyatt and the Taj Group. Mendonca also received a culinary scholarship from Johnson and Wales University, increasing her expertise in Indian, Thai, French, Mediterranean, and Middle Eastern cuisines. The concept for Dates and Olives evolved largely out of a desire to bring accessible, fresh, and flavorful food to the Brighton area. “It’s just so fitting for the demographics—there’s a coffee place, there’s a fish place, and burgers, so we said: fresh food,” Mendonca said. The reaction to Dates and Olives has been gener-
ally positive since the restaurant moved into its spot on Chestnut Hill Ave. Before opening Dates and Olives on Aug. 28 of this year, Mendonca was busy with her catering business Seasoned and Spiced, which also doubles as a farmers market. This company acted as a starting point for Mendonca’s venture into the Boston culinary landscape. “I’d like to say [Dates and Olives] is my step up,” she said. Mendonca argues the made-fromscratch falafel, hummus, couscous salad, and eggplant dip are also a “step up” from the typical dining options in Brighton. This freshly made attitude also extends out to the homemade, cold-pressed fruit and vegetable juices featured at the restaurant. New customers to Dates and Olives will have the chance to taste the thick, delectable hummus at the outset of their dining experience. Menu items, such as the eggplant dip or the muhamara dip with pita, might initially sound intimidating to patrons who are used to “traditional” Mediterranean fare (e.g. gyros), but Mendonca is confident that farm-fresh flavors and a warm, welcoming staff is all that’s needed to entice customers to broaden their horizons. The familiar quick-serve method at Dates and Olives further emphasizes the high standard of service at the restaurant. Chef Mendonca has implemented a “fine-casual” format in which the customer makes his or her way down a counter, piling on a variety of 12 toppings and sauces such as olives, feta cheese, and yogurt mint sauce. “It’s a build-your-meal concept,” Mendonca said.“ You come in and choose between rice, salad, or a pita pocket, and choose any one—protein
Sarah Moore
Collin Couch / Heights Staff
Dates and Olives is offering Food Network-quality dishes at its new location in Brighton. or veggies—and add any four of the toppings and sauces.” Having just officially opened Dates and Olives less than a month ago, Chef Mendonca is eager to attract a larger customer base, citing Boston College as a sizeable contributor. The business is anticipating that the reasonably priced
choices, garden-fresh food, and relaxed, local atmosphere will rope in more and more students. “The word is not out yet with the college kids,” she said. “We did the Taste of BC and would love more kids to come in and see what this is about. The professors have been very receptive.” n
Philadelphia-based app puts food festival in your hand By Leslie Sellers For The Heights This past Sunday, the Boston Local Food Festival took over the Rose Kennedy Greenway in the heart of downtown Boston. The sunny and 75-degree weather created the perfect backdrop to showcase over 100 vendors and exhibitors, and gave over 30,000 visitors a delicious experience in local food and sustainable living. Growing up in Philadelphia, Morgan Berman, co-founder and CEO of My MilkCrate, always had a connection to urban living and tasty good food inform her childhood. “It started earliest with my mom being a farm-to-table chef and part of that movement in Philadelphia, growing up between an art school and a community garden,” she said. “So I got to see design and local food coming together in this very physical way in my childhood.” By connecting New England eaters to the abundance of fresh and nutritious local food options, My MilkCrate acted as the interactive food festival in your hand for patrons on Sunday. Presented by the Sustainable Business Network of Massachusetts, the festival chose My MilkCrate to be the official app of the event. As the official app, My MilkCrate promotes partnered businesses, organizations, and the event itself—before, after, and during the event. The app
makes it easy for people to navigate the food festival and other events hosted by SBNM. Continuing her journey in urban areas, Berman’s first career as a social worker gave her the opportunity to work with very disadvantaged, low-income women. When she saw the impact the loss of local, well-paying jobs had on the Philadelphia economy, Berman recalled, “It really helped bring home why it’s important to support small, local businesses—to also make fresh, local food accessible.” It wasn’t until after working at Apple for a year that Berman saw how she personally could help urban populations locate the food she knew could be difficult to find. While helping people learn how to use mobile technology, Berman was inspired to take what she viewed as the limitless nature of mobile technology and apply it to something she and so many others are passionate about: sustainability. The app was created one year ago in Philadelphia, Berman’s hometown and the birthplace of her sustainability focus. My MilkCrate is currently used in three U.S. cities: Philadelphia, Boston, and Denver, and, according to Berman, will hopefully grow to Washington, D.C., and Brooklyn in the next year. My MilkCrate can be very beneficial to Bostonians beyond its ability to promote sustainability events around the
city, Berman argued. The advantage of My MilkCrate is that users can find local, sustainable restaurants near them, learn about sustainable businesses and services in the area, and access a calendar for events in their city they might want to attend. The app enables consumers to spend their money at businesses that uphold their values and eat food that is good for them, as well as the earth. “What we really want to do is help demonstrate that people can make a difference with their dollars, and that by showing people the impact they can have, actually shift spending and grow the local, sustainable economy,” Berman said.
Looking to the future, Berman wants her app to enable consumers to locate and connect with the food sources they desire and help grow those resources by making them more accessible. For an event like the Boston Local Food Festival—one that showcases farmers, local restaurants, food trucks, fisherman, and organizations focused on healthy lifestyle—My MilkCrate seems like a natural choice for the official app. Now for Berman, when the Philadelphia native comes to Boston, there’s only one food choice for her: lobster. “I am not the vegan on the team,” she said. n
Leslie Sellers / For The Heights
My MilkCrate is connecting New England eaters to fresh and nutritious local food options.
I’m convinced that my father is a wizard. Anyone who knows me knows that I don’t get along very well with most types of sports or sporting equipment. They also know that balance and handeye-coordination aren’t necessarily my “thing.” I’m the girl who falls up the stairs, who was never graceful enough for ballet but not coordinated enough to be good at basketball. I’m the girl who breaks her arm playing soccer—a sport that the majority of the world, appropriately, calls football. A day without some altercation with gravity is a good one in my book. Be it by the grace of God or Lance Armstrong, my father taught me—the girl who has ripped one too many pairs of jeans falling all over this campus (ask my roommates if you want the full story)—how to ride a bike. There I was, standing a foot-and-ahalf shorter than now and adorned with a full set of matching, pink padding. It was just me, my dad, and the little trail of asphalt that wound behind our apartment complex. We had been practicing on the grass of an adjacent baseball field but this was the big leagues, a 7-yearold’s Tour de France if you will. The training wheels were off, quite literally, and on that warm spring day a younger, chubbier version of me flew down that strip of asphalt on two wheels, by myself, with my dad cheering in the background. This week, I rode my bike to class for the first time and, I can tell you, not much has changed. It is still just as exhilarating to feel the wind in your hair, to propel yourself past walkers and joggers with the almost effortless turn of a pedal. I wove in and out of traffic not unlike dodging sticks and cracks along that sidewalk. My dad, in the form of a text message, was delighted to hear that I had been enjoying my most recent birthday present. I was happy to be fast, to be flying on both occasions—just this time I was without a few pads and with a few inches. Although my only bike route has been to and from campus, navigating that little stretch of Boston, balanced on two wheels, has given me a new sense of mobility—literally. Somewhere in between the sidewalker and the highway driver, the Boston biker seems to come out on top. Boston, a concentrated city with a few long stretches of road that lead right into its epicenter, lends itself to this median mode of travel. Just this past weekend, Boston celebrated its bikers with the 11th annual Hub On Wheels event. Run in conjunction with Boston Bikes, the city’s initiative to foster support and accessibility for bicycles, Hub On Wheels is a yearly event that provides almost unlimited access to some of the city’s most trafficked streets, exclusively for cyclists. The event offered clear courses of 10, 30, and 50 miles that wound through some of Boston’s most iconic neighborhoods and all began and ended at City Hall Plaza. With Harpoon Brewery, Chipotle Mexican Grill, David’s Tea, and Mayor Martin J. Walsh, WCAS ’09, as official sponsors, the entire city came together to foster the Hub’s potential for a stronger cycling culture. Although it has been a few years— and a few crashes—since I first learned to ride a bike, my most recent birthday present has cleared a new path in my perspective of Boston. With the click of my bike lock and the whir of the two wheels, I have recently rejoined a more mobile community just a few states away from home. In just a few pedals, I have found a new sense of camaraderie gliding over crosswalks and staying in line with the bike paths—which I intend to follow farther than just Foster St. So watch out for a wobbly white bicycle veering down Commonwealth Ave. as I continue to explore Boston by bike.
Sarah Moore is the Asst. Metro Editor for The Heights. She can be reached at metro@bcheights.com
The Heights
A6
Editorials
QUOTE OF THE DAY
Agape Latte franchised, expands to other universities
Agape Latte is no longer only a Boston College program. The Church of the 21st Century Center (C21) event that features stories of faith from individuals of all backgrounds, shared in a town hall-like setting, is now successfully expanding to 10 schools. In essence, Agape Latte has become a franchise, and the program is looking to continue facilitating discussions about faith for young people all across the country. Out of Campus Ministry’s offerings, Agape Latte has been one of the most accessible programs to the average BC student. It provides a unique setting where those of nonCatholic backgrounds can enter the conversation on faith at BC. The program also offers substantive material on religious issues for Catholics. Agape Latte acts as an ideal middle ground to bring BC students together on important questions of spirituality, relationships, and faith. For example, a 2014 talk had Mer Zovko, former assistant director for leadership development in the former Student Programs Office, and Paul Chebator, former dean of students, discuss the way they found each other, and how they managed to stay in love and married through life’s trials. Speakers addressing topics like this make Agape Latte Universally-accessible, and growth outside of Catholic universities is a pragmatic move for C21, as stu-
Thursday, September 24, 2015
“That everybody is identical in their secret unspoken belief that way deep down they are different from everyone else. That this isn’t necessarily perverse. That there might not be angels, but there are people who might as well be angels.” -David Foster Wallace (1962-2008), American writer
dents at non-religious institutions often lack outlets to have conversations about faith and religion. Even C21 is unsure how far Agape Latte will grow, with international expansion now looking like a possibility, as well as an online database in which all of the speeches will be kept for anyone to access
In essence, Agape Latte has become a franchise, and the program is looking to continue facilitating discussion about faith for young people all across the country. Out of Campus Ministry’s offerings, Agape Latte has been one of the most accessible programs to the average studernt. Pamela Taylor / Heights Graphics
and watch. C21 seems to be in control: branding for Agape Latte has been formalized and consistent, the message and purpose has been clear, and the energy behind the project is evident. If Agape Latte ever becomes a household name, BC students could take pride in knowing that it was his or her university that first ignited the conversation.
‘Rise’ looks to bring leading women to new heights at BC Earlier this week, the Women’s Center sent out acceptances for Rise, an initiative aiming to provide mentors for women who are juniors and seniors in leadership positions at Boston College. The idea behind the program is that female underclassmen can look toward junior and senior mentors through different organizations, though juniors and seniors do not have people to turn to when they are struggling. Over the course of their senior year, 64 female students will be paired up with prominent women on campus—including Kerry Cronin, Kathleen Bailey, and Kelli Armstrong—to discuss women’s self-esteem in college, portrayals of women in the media, and BC social culture, among other issues that are not gender specific: where they can go after college ends, and what they can do with their education. The program is poised for success. The idea behind it—to create a space in which the female leaders can be mentored—is so constructive that it feels almost overdue, and the mentors selected for the inaugural year are notable and successful women on campus. Furthermore, these mentors are paired up with mentees at the mentees’ request—the senior girls indicated which mentor they felt would provide the most salient information for them as they move forward with their lives. Most of all, the creation and turnout for the program shows a continuing trend on campus toward comprehension of women’s issues, and adequate programming that looks to address them. Although junior girls weren’t accepted for the upcoming year, it doesn’t mean that they won’t be in the future. Trying to
appeal to the seniors that will only have this one opportunity to be apart of the Rise program, the applicant had to be kept to the uppermost class. Juniors who applied and were denied this year will be given precedent in the application pool next year, but, hopefully by then the program will be opened up to hundreds of girls and the prospect of being cut will not be a concern. If the program is successful, it would be interesting for research to determine if men, too, would benefit from having a similar mentorship
The views expressed in the above editorials represent the official position of The Heights, as discussed and written by the
Editorial Board. A list of the members of the Editorial Board can be found at bcheights. com/opinions.
The program is poised for success: the idea behind it—to create a space in which the female leaders can be mentored—is so constructive that it feels almost overdue, and the mentors selected for the inaugural year are notable and successful women on campus. program. While men get the heavily lauded Freshmen League as an option for their first-year experience, it is ultimately up to individuals to seek out a mentor in their later college years, with no guarantee of it paying off. For now, it is great to see a program like Rise being put into action. Much more than just a network or friendship-forming tool, Rise looks to reverse stigmas and statistics, and guide some of the most powerful women of the future down the right paths.
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The Heights welcomes Letters to the Editor not exceeding 400 words and column submissions that do not exceed 700 words for its op/ed pages. The Heights reserves the right to edit for clarity, brevity, accuracy, and to prevent libel. The Heights also reserves the right to write headlines and choose illustrations to accompany pieces submitted Breck Wills, Graphics Editor Alex Fairchild, Online Manager Alec Greaney, Assoc. Copy Editor Archer Parquette, Asst. Copy Editor Arielle Cedeno, Assoc. News Editor Gus Merrell, Asst. News Editor Jack Stedman, Assoc. Sports Editor Tom DeVoto, Asst. Sports Editor Mujtaba Syed, Asst. Features Editor Chris Fuller, Assoc. Arts & Review Editor
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The Heights
Thursday, September 24, 2015
A7
Homogeneity at Boston College
Pamela Taylor
The Night Bus - Boston College bus drivers deserve nothing more than our acclaim and condolences. Acclaim because of their reliability (not to be confused with TransLoc, which deserves anything but our acclaim for its reliability), and condolences for the way we storm the buses on weekend nights . (Can we get running stats on how many Newton buses have become sloshy puke ponds?) But, most of all, the night bus drivers deserve an award. Something. Anything. Past midnight, no one really wants to be up doing work anymore. Everyone is running on caffeine fumes, adrenaline spikes that come with the oh-shit-there-is-no-wayI-can-finish-this-all-tonight-andit-is-due-tomorrow moments. So kudos to the Dark Knights of BC, the Watchful Protectors, the night bus drivers who are just freaking booking it down Commonwealth Ave., getting us back to our apartments and beds (somehow) safely, so that we can get those extra 20 minutes of sleep before we need to wake up tomorrow and do it all over again. Vin Diesel, Director - The Fast & Furious franchise has become to Universal Pictures what Marvel is to Disney and DC is to Warner Brothers, with the last film grossing over $1.5 billion. Fast & Furious 8 was thrown into production almost immediately after the summer blockbuster proved its worth, but there still has been trouble finding a director—and it looks as if Vin Diesel might be scheming to step up to the plate. Why is this a problem? We don’t know, but the studio executives seem to think that it is. We think it’s the best thing we’ve ever heard.
“The Boston College student body is painfully homogenous,” I said to the woman who sat beside me. We were waiting for a panel discussion on “Workplace Diversity” to begin, and found common ground on the topic of education. She works for a nonprofit that aids underprivileged students in preparing for the demands of a university, and I attend a school that is nearly void of the types of students her organization helps. Our conversation was brought to a hush as the panel speakers filed onto stage—three women who build teams for organizations in technology, finance, and government. The panel, which was hosted by Design Exchange Boston in the Seaport District, placed an emphasis on putting “people first” when recruiting talent. Chief resilience officer for the City of Boston, Dr. S. Atyia Martin, sat on the panel and spoke of her current project— building a team that works to make social and economic equality in Boston a sustainable reality. She admitted the danger of simply filling “token representations” within an organization, which is often a product of attempting to solve underrepresentation from a statistical standpoint (i.e. 30 percent of our employees are female: we need to hire more women). Instead, Martin believes the recruitment process should be driven by asking, “Who are we serving?” By enlisting advocates directly from marginalized groups, Martin said, organizations avoid the trap of merely appeasing the statistics, and will ultimately be more successful in achieving solutions. As I scribbled down Martin’s words about the inextricable link between a team and its mission, I remarked on the irony of BC’s Jesuit mission to produce “men and women for others.” At its most basic interpretation, “men and women for others” is good and simple. However, its simplicity spawns ambiguity. Who exactly are we “men and women” of BC? And who are the “others” for whom we exist? Jesuits working at Boston College in the winter and spring of 1994 made an attempt to spur conversation surrounding these questions. In a paper entitled, Jesuits
and Boston College: BC’s Mission, Jesuits’ Mission, the Jesuits analyze how the seemingly confounding variables of religion and modernity confuse the identity of BC. They acknowledge that universities can play an integral role in reversing the dehumanizing struggles experienced by the oppressed (presumably, the “others”). Yet they also understand the tendencies of universities to “tailor their programs to market demands, compete for scarce resources from government and private donors, and woo students with consumer amenities.” The Jesuits do not provide answers to the seeming paradox of humanity and capitalism, a disaccord that continues to fork the vision of BC today. However, they remain confident that harmony is possible—that “a university can express a profound humanism, constituted by the desire to understand the world and the direction of our lives ... to achieve justice.” Twenty-one years after the paper was published, BC has only regressed in solving this inconsistency between humanity and capitalism. From where I stand in 2015, BC’s identity crisis as a money-hungry Catholic university manifests itself most evidently in the socioeconomic homogeneity of its student body. We do not reflect an understanding of the world. Rather, we reflect an understanding of the hierarchy of boarding schools in the Northeast United States. We understand the connotations of our hometown zipcodes. We understand the world we occupy: the world of the privileged white. To cater to the desires of our status-at tuned administration and cushion-accustomed undergraduates, the University has placed an insularity-perpetuating $186,680 price tag on BC’s four-year undergraduate Jesuit education. Complemented by scholarships, the main source of tuition subsidization is through financial aid. However, the average financial aid package subsidizes a four-year undergraduate education by less than 20 percent (and the average scholarship even less so)—an amount that is not enough to support a truly global and cross-cultural student body. These figures makes one wonder where exactly the $425 million annual gross tuition revenue and the vaguely allocated alumni donations are actually going (beyond, of course, the religious upkeep of grounds). At some point, BC’s administration will get back to its Jesuit roots. It will realize that educational efficacy is not achieved by tightening acceptance rates, nor
climbing the ranks of US News & World Report, nor buying up more land. Rather, it is achieved by taking financial risks and making creative efforts to broaden the talent pool from which BC recruits. This is more than catering to minorities. It is about composing a student body that reflects the groups of people we, the men and women of BC, are supposedly serving. If BC wants to truly improve, it needs to welcome students who represent the innumerable facets of diversity that can advocate for all brackets, classes, races, and corners of the world. This is not to say that BC’s current approach is completely ineffective—as a white female from an affluent suburb outside Rochester, N.Y., I find BC’s volunteer programs in Boston and abroad integral in awakening students to both their own privilege and the world’s plight. Yet, in light of the resources at BC’s disposal, notably the recent $1.5 billion fundraised by the Light the World campaign, it seems that the approach of mere contact to the gritty reality of the world is cutting corners. Imagine the richness of each student’s world perspective if BC fostered an inclusive culture, where the privileged and disenfranchised sat alongside one another in classrooms, receiving a high-level education, feeling comfortable contributing personal anecdotes, and building solutions together. BC has the sufficient monetary and human capital to make this a reality. Yet, in the years that I have attended the University, BC has seemingly made no advances to diversify its socioeconomically homogeneous student body. The administration can continue to revel at the satisfactory chunk of the pie chart they’ve allotted to AHANA students. They can fall asleep at night under the impression that the access they provide to volunteer programs is enough to move humanity forward. But until BC’s leaders engage in the dialogue that the Jesuits encouraged more than two decades ago—until we, as a University, address Dr. Martin’s question of, “Who are we serving?” and subsequently make efforts to reflect these people in the composition of our student body—we shan’t be citing the blasphemy that a BC Jesuit education produces “men and women for others.” Perhaps “white and privileged for others” would be more honest.
Pamela Taylor is a senior staff columnist for The Heights. She can be reached at opinions@bcheights.com.
Embracing electronic dance music
Having to Pee In Class - So, you do the work, you show up on time, you actually like the class, and about 10 minutes in, your bladder decides it’s high time to inform you that the mocha latte with the extra shot of espresso and big water bottle’s worth of water and inexplicably priced orange juice you got at Mac all just made their way through you. But this isn’t a big lecture hall—it’s just a 12 person class, one of those class sizes that tour guides brag about to the prospective students that they take around. And all you’re left wishing for is a bigger class so you getting up and leaving won’t look like such a big deal. And your teacher is talking about the principle of squareness and how squares imitate squareness but aren’t themselves squareness but are just squares and you’re like my God please if I survive this I’ll do anything, I won’t bash eduroam anymore, I’ll go to mass again, and I’ll actually do my Perspectives reading . Right when you start breaking a literal sweat, the teacher finally calls class and you’re racing out your door with your books barely in your backpack.
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Dan Gazzola Over the past couple of years, electronic dance music has gained popularity and grown at an astonishing rate. EDM continues to spread into mainstream media. Snapchat live stories frequently feature festivals, which spread feelings of euphoria among attendees through brilliant colors and cheerful vibes. Venues are hiring new talent, and given the accessibility of pro-level software, there’s a vast influx of these artists. One incredible example of this is the story of Adam Wiles, or Calvin Harris as millions of people know him. He was working at a Scottish grocery store chain, without a college degree and living in his parents’ house before he blew up in the electronic music world. Although electronic music is growing, there are still many people who don’t understand all that can fall under the genre, especially when it comes to electronic music’s presence in popular songs. Even with its immense development, not a lot of people understand how expansive electronic music is. Many hear one song from a particular branch of EDM, and then form an opinion about the whole genre based off that. For some, the term “electronic music” brings up the image of a hyperEuropean, deep v-neck-wearing human. The kind of guy who buys his shirts three sizes too small, and roams in packs of other skintight v-neck-wearing, thick-German-accented men. But EDM isn’t just comprised of songs that will make your ears bleed and that guy’s head bob. From tropical and deep house artists like Kygo, to progressive house producers like Nicky Romero, electronic
music covers a huge range of styles and subgenres. So to claim one doesn’t like EDM, is relatively close minded. Electronic music is unique in that it’s adaptable. The driving energy in lots of electronic music complements a multitude of musical styles. This is why you see lots of crossover into different genres of music. Major Lazer mixes together elements of reggaeton and dancehall into many of his songs. Justin Bieber worked with Jack U (Skrillex and Diplo). “Wake Me Up” by Avicii contains both country and EDM. Furthermore, the software used to create
The culture surrounding EDM is pretty incredible as well. Music festival like Ultra, Tomorrowland, and Electric Daisy Carnival provide an incredible atmosphere to listen. electronic music provides a limitless arsenal of instruments and sounds to use in songwriting. The culture surrounding EDM is pretty incredible as well. Music festivals like Ultra, Tomorrowland and Electric Daisy Carnival provide an incredible atmosphere to listen. Bright lights and vivid colors give off an energy that’s hard to describe to those who aren’t physically present. And it always seems that attendees are in a euphoric state. To go along with the great music and crazy stage set up, festival goers (and employees) wear some pretty crazy costumes. At Tomorrowland, there’s a fantasy theme where people dress up as if they were in a fairy tale, or were mythological characters. This certainly isn’t for everyone, but it’s pretty
neat regardless. Although the festivals are great, they get pretty pricey. So it’s hard for a broke college student (like you and me) to be a part of the crazy energy that is there. Greg Hawkinson, co-president of Electronic State of Mind, Boston College’s electronic music club mentioned an affordable alternative: “We want to pair with some of the great dance teams on campus and have a dance party, this way people can really get a feel for the energy that comes with live electronic music.” He explained that it would be around halloween, so people could “wear their costumes” which is a close parallel to what happens at the larger international festivals. Hawkinson mentioned that the club is a pretty great venue for members to share their music taste along with teaching members how to DJ and produce their own music. He also feels that electronic music gets a bad rap: “It’s not even that they wouldn’t like it, it’s that we’re spoon-fed mainstream garbage that’s written in conference rooms by a board of directors to maximize sales. None of that stuff is genuine.” Due to the rapidity at which electronic music is developing, we can expect to hear it more frequently. Whether it is blasting in a spin class at the Plex, or popping up on the radio, the presence of electronic in modern popular music is undeniable. When someone listens to a good electronic song, there’s an uplifting sensation hard to find in other genres. Electronic music has and will continue to transform genres we are familiar with. And although dressing up like a centaur isn’t for everyone, electronic music is likely to impact the society we live in. It’s vital that we embrace electronic in order to comprehend some of the changes it will bring.
Dan Gazzola is an op-ed columnist for The Heights. He can be reached at opinions@bcheights.com.
The opinions and commentaries of the op-ed columnists and cartoonists appearing on this page represent the views of the author or artist of that particular piece, and not necessarily the views of The Heights. Any of the columnists and artists for the Opinions section of The Heights can be reached at opinions@bcheights.com.
Cleaning the clocks Christophe Bernier Boston College is not the same as last year. The newest Commonwealth Ave. dorm is finally shaping up, the fourth spike of Burns was put back into place, and Stuart Hall is looking better than ever. For some reason, putting a printer on Lower Campus did not make the list, and we are still anxiously waiting. But the most significant change was one that went almost unnoticed: clocks appeared in the classrooms. I welcomed the change. At first, it reminded me of high school. It was, all things considered, comforting. Three weeks in the school year, I have mixed feelings about the clocks. I’ve noticed that in every class, I look at the clock six or seven times. I want to know what the time is. I want to know how long I’ve been sitting in class. I want to know how long I have left before I can go into my other class and look at the clock there. And in a given minute, I can look around and catch one of my classmates doing the exact same thing. Now I wonder why exactly we do that. Clearly, we want to know how much time is left, but why are we so anxious to leave? We invest so much in college, not only in money but also in time. Shouldn’t we try to maximize our learning experience, considering we give up so much? But instead, we look at the clock. It doesn’t stop there. Many of us are ecstatic to have our classes cancelled. And for the non-freshmen reading this, let me take you back to this past January. Juno took the campus by literal storm, classes were cancelled across the board, and everyone was enthralled. It is not hard to see how ridiculous the situation may seem. But I have a hard time accepting that, without fault, we are all simply behaving irrationally. What if what we’re doing is the rational thing after all? Economics teaches us that education is an investment. We learn to increase our technical skills and knowledge as employers and employees, which makes us more likely to be hired. It makes sense, looking at the employment rates of college graduates compared to those with only a high school diploma. But it’s hard to reconcile that with all of our “irrational” behaviors. Shouldn’t we hate to have class cancelled, missing the opportunity to increase our human capital without a refund? Honestly, I don’t buy it. Sure, we learn things in college that will be essential for our life after we graduate. Accountants need to learn accounting, mathematicians need to learn mathematics, finance majors need to learn about finance. But if it really was only about learning, would we have to go to college at all? These days especially, there are so many free resources available to us to do exactly that: learning. To borrow from Good Will Hunting, aren’t we just “dropping 150 grand on a f—king education we coulda’ gotten for $1.50 in late charges at the public library?” So why has college attendance risen by 46 percent since 1990? I know for a fact that this column won’t make anyone drop out, especially not me. Clearly there’s a huge benefit to attending college. If it isn’t to learn, then what is it for? It seems to me that college has turned into a mere screening process for employers. College is a way to weed out who is naturally a good worker, and who isn’t. The job market is becoming increasingly competitive. Knowing which college, if any, the applicant attended, helps them reduce the fat stack of resumes. Because by going to college, you prove you have the discipline to go through the process. You prove you have the brains to do it. That’s what it’s all about: proving yourself. You’re proving that you’re good enough. Of course we learn a lot in college, but that’s not why we go. We go to have our capabilities affirmed. We go because it has become the standard. That explains why we are so happy to have our classes cancelled. Employers will never know that there was no class that day. It won’t change a thing. You’ll still have proven yourself to the same degree as if class wasn’t cancelled. If you look at cancelled class as a loss of your money, then sure, you’re an irrational being. But if you look at it as one less task to prove yourself, happiness is only implicit. Is there anything we can do about this situation? How about this: Take down the f—king clocks. Put a printer in Lower.
Christophe Bernier is an op-ed columnist for The Heights. He can be reached at opinions@bcheights.com.
The Heights
A8
Thursday, September 24, 2015
Harvard professor poses unusual presidential bid From Lessig, A1 his campaign. Lessig passionately considers the current Congressional campaign financing system the source of all major political problems, including climate change, student loan debt, and an increasing budget deficit. His unconventional campaign is based on running as what he calls a “referendum president,” focused on a single mission: passing a package of laws to change the nation’s political system and
haley cormier / Heights Staff
A year-round effort for Boston Calling showrunners Local concert producers are the ones who call the shots for Boston’s biggest musical festival By Magdalen Sullivan Heights Editor The sixth Boston Calling Music Festival will take over City Hall Plaza for a weekend-long concert equipped with a 23-act lineup this Friday. The festival’s co-founder, however, is already thinking about next May. Mike Snow and his partner, Brian Appel, have endured this frantic pace for the past three years. Yet, Snow credits the festival’s survival to the energy of local Bostonians. “It’s amazing that this city has this sort of mental stamina,” he said. “To come out and support two festivals that have 20plus bands at them each and every year—that’s very unique.” While working for The Phoenix Media/Communications Group earlier in his career, Snow produced both free and ticketed concerts in Downtown Boston that were sponsored by The Phoenix’s radio station. In 2012, Snow and Appel founded Crash Line Productions—the company responsible for producing Boston Calling. After observing existing music festivals across the country such as Coachella, Bonnaroo, and Austin City Limits, Snow viewed the locations of these festivals as an undue burden on the attendee. “It seemed like people had to pile in their cars and commit like seven days to go to like a three-day concert,” Snow said. “Which is cool if that’s what those festivals are and they’re amazing for it. But, for us, we really looked at it like, ‘Wouldn’t it be awesome if you could just jump on the T and go to a festival?’” Boston Calling is held in one of the most centralized plazas in Boston, with Boston Common, Faneuil Hall, and the Charles River all within walking distance, as well as a number of nearby T stops that make the site accessible for those living on the outskirts of the city. The decision to have the concert twice a year was another attempt at making the production distinctive from other cities’. “There’s not somebody else doing two, in the sort of style of a festival, on the same place, in the same market, twice every year,” Snow said. “So that was a goal of ours, and we were able to keep it up every year.” The twice-a-year style has allowed the production company to learn the ins-and-outs of the plaza in a short amount of time. Over six festivals, there have been three different stage placements, as well as various main entrance sites.
“Every stop along the way, we’ve learned something at each one of those placements, and sort of advanced that every year,” Snow said. “Logistically and organizationally, we learned a lot about how that plaza really operates, and how to make it better for the attendee along the way.” The attendee experience is a top priority to Snow—even when considering the concert’s capacity. “We always do think about the people who are coming to the concert, it’s not really about the financial gain of selling 1,000 more tickets,” he said. That consideration extends to planning all sides of the festival-going experience. There has been an effort to incorporate visual art into the site, as well as new cuisine options such as Newburyport Crab Cake Company’s crab cakes and fish tacos. “They’re all little things, but they certainly add up to that person that comes out and enjoys two and a half days with us, who probably notices it a lot more than somebody who just comes Friday night, and that’s it,” Snow said. Crash Line Productions expanded its scope from New England all the way to the Midwest this summer, producing a festival in Eau Claire, Wis. Snow recognizes the difficulty in bringing these large events to new, smaller communities. His team refuses to settle for a commonly-used site that doesn’t match its expectations of accessibility or distinction, and the company is always on the look-out for a new event space. Snow likes to remind Boston Calling attendees that Saturday and Sunday tickets permit re-entry throughout the day, which allows for a little exploration. “I always really encourage people to come down here early,” he said. “There’s this massive Faneuil Hall complex that’s changing every year—it’s not the Faneuil Hall from six years ago. Boston Common is right down the street. There’s amazing restaurants further down Cambridge St. towards the Charles River now that there never were before. So I always really encourage people to come out and kind of re-familiarize yourself with this area.” With an influx of college students populating the city throughout the year, Boston is the perfect location for a September music festival. What brought Snow to Beantown, however, was actually a bit of hometown pride. The producer grew up in Melrose, Mass.—just at the end of the Orange line. “I mean, for me, I grew up here,” Snow said. “It was really a dream for us to be able to do this in our city.” n
“All of the issues [people] are reacting to are things we can’t get until we deal with this more fundamental issue of fixing our democracy first.” —Lawrence Lessig, 2016 Democratic presidential candidate ethics laws. His Citizens Equality Act of 2017 is a bill designed to expand voter access, end political gerrymandering, and institute campaign finance reform. “We don’t have a Congress that can solve the major problems because of the corrupting influence of money inside our political system,” Lessig said. “We have to fix that problem first, then we can get back to solving all of the other problems that America needs to solve.” The concept of a referendum president is new, and Lessig explained that if elected, fixing the political system is his only priority. His plan would renovate the election system in several ways. He is calling for automatic voter registration, and shifting Election Day to a current national holiday or a weekend day to encourage more voter participation. Lessig also wants to give voters a voucher worth $50 to contribute money to congressional campaigns and eventually create citizenfunded elections. Lessig is not the only candidate who is focused on fixing the political system. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who is surging in early polls in New Hampshire, has made campaign finance reform a part of his bid for the Democratic nomination. Sanders is relying on small donors to fund his campaign—his average donation is $31.30. Lessig explained that he likes that Sanders is raising the issue of going after big banks who are large contributors to political campaigns, but he faults Sanders for not making it the top priority of his campaign. “Bernie has talked about the way campaigns are funded, but now he’s back to talking about what is going to overturn Citizens United,” Lessig said. “That’s an incomplete solution.” Lessig also launched his campaign the same week that Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton released a two-
page document addressing unlimited money in American elections. Lessig explained that Clinton and Sanders have slowly come around to checking off the right boxes, but both candidates are not doing enough to recognize that this should be a “day one” issue that must be accomplished before moving onto anything else. “So they [Clinton and Sanders] are not actually pushing for the kinds of changes that will be enough,” Lessig said. “Even if they were, my point is that they would come to office with this being one of 10 things. That will not solve the problem.” While the two White House hopefuls may not agree on much, Lessig also said that Donald Trump’s willingness to speak out on campaign finance reform has helped the overall cause. “I’m happy he has raised the issue of the corrupting influence of money in politics—but that’s about it,” Lessig said. This is not the first time Lessig has undertaken an unconventional approach to change the election system. Last year, Lessig developed a following in liberal circles when he launched the Mayday PAC, which spent more than $10 million to help candidates from both parties who supported lessening the impact of wealthy donors in elections. Almost every candidate that his group backed lost. Looking to the future, Lessig is focused on Oct. 13: the date of the first Democratic debate. He will have to secure at least 1 percent of the national vote in order to make it to the big stage. Unlike the other five Democratic candidates who are frequently polled along with Vice President Joe Biden, who is still contemplating entering the race, Lessig has only been included in one poll so far that found 1 percent of likely Democratic voters supported the Harvard professor.
“We don’t have a Congress that can solve the major problems because of the corrupting influence of money inside our political system.” —Lessig He is still optimistic about his chances, but knows that he has work to do in order to become a household name. Regardless of the outcome, Lessig will be back in New Hampshire next January to walk across the state for a third time—hoping to get more people questioning the “corruption” in politics merely a few weeks before the first 2016 Democratic primary election. “If we can do that in a credible way, we can set up the rest of the campaign to take off and be really powerful,” he said. n
Houses versus homes: combining sentiment and the city Ryan Daly By definition, a house is synonymous with a home. But we all know different. While it’s hard to build a house, it’s harder to feel at home. Houses are only physical—they take up space. Homes, however, are both physical and emotional spaces with some unknown, immaterial additive. Homes prove that even without more material matter, something can still take up more space. Homes can be whole institutions. Whole cities. Like Boston College. Like Boston. The unknown, immaterial additive is mostly, as it is to be believed, sentiment. This makes homes an easy place to stay in and a hard place to leave. Ask Lot’s wife. Well, maybe not. Ask Stephen King. He’ll tell you home is
where they want you to stay longer. Or ask Head and the Heart. They’ll tell you that you’re already home where you feel loved. You see? Sentiment. Sentiment comes in amalgamated memories. In music. In smells. When I was growing up, my mom cleaned our kitchen cabinets with orangescented Bona brand spray, and she’d always spray a lot of it because she liked to clean every single cabinet front, and open up the cabinets so she could get all the creases, and even our big-ass refrigerator had a cabinet front on it so she’d have to spray that whole thing too. My dad would always notice when he walked in from work, and say as he lithely tossed his car keys on the counter from several feet away, “Smells clean in here, Honey.” Orangescented Bona brand spray—that’s how I start thinking about my childhood home. But while we remember and reflect and talk about the unknown, immaterial additive, we forget about the other component: physicality. Coats of
paint. Relational distances. Potholes on narrow roads. These things are important. For all of the professionals that it takes to build a house—electricians, architects, masons—it takes residents to make a home. People to dirty the bathroom just like that, to scar hardwood floors with their innate standing-up-out-of-a-chair procedures. Paradoxically, whatever the unknown immaterial additive is, materiality plays into it. They’re not strictly sanctioned variables. And when you move out of single units of infrastructure and into BC or Boston, you can see how massive the idea of a home is. When I was younger, I believed I could better connect to my home if I could take it in at all of its different angles. Lying prone on my carpet, looking at the photo albums under my bed. Just watching TV from different parts of the couch was enough. Understanding the geometrical secrets of my house was helpful in making it more of a home. But, like Lot’s wife, I
wasn’t given much of a choice to stick around. Which is not to say I looked back. I didn’t. BC and Boston already felt like homes. Vanity was involved. Coolidge Corner had charm. As did Cambridge. Everything was so clean compared to New York City. (If you have to get into the city very early in the morning after a torrential storm the night before, you’ll learn that the South End smells like every brownstone exterior and cobblestone path was scrubbed with a salted pumice stone. NYC would just smell like more urine.) And look at BC. We’ve got it made here: Stokes Hall alone justifies studying the humanities, Gargan Hall is every Harry Potter-loving adult’s wet dream, and when it’s nice out, Gasson’s quad is dope. But vanity only gets you so far, lest we forget about sentiment. We came here because we believed we’d fit in with the people. And, if we’re lucky, over the course of freshman year we began finding some of them. A nexus is built. It isn’t just about who people
are, but where they are. Newton. Upper. Friends become the distances that have to be travelled to reach them. There are more angles in a college than a home, and more in a city than a college. My childhood propensity for different points of view would be impossible to fully complete in Boston. But trying is not a waste of time. Take in the angles, ratios, verticality, and spatial importance. Build, along the way, into the unknown, immaterial additive of sentiment and infrastructural connection and whatever it is you find unnamable about a home. Have you ever been in a house that wasn’t a home? It’s possible to be a squatter, even if you own the place. And you own every penny of your new home. Get gritty with the parameters and proportions. Avoid becoming that pillar of salt. You’ll have a chance to think about the home you came from. First, continue making a home here.
Ryan Daly is an editor for The Heights. He can be reached at metro@bcheights. com.
FEATURE
THE DIRTY BANGS
THE HEIGHTS SITS DOWN WITH BOSTON CALLING-BOUND ROCK BAND, PAGE B3 COLUMN
ALBUM REVIEW
SOME HEADY FASHION ADVICE AS WE BRIDGE THE FALL EQUINOX, PAGE B2
INDIE ROCKER RYAN ADAMS COVERS TAYLOR SWIFT’S LANDMARK POP RECORD, PAGE B4
FALL FASHION DILEMMA
‘1989’
BRECK WILLS / HEIGHTS GRAPHICS
THE HEIGHTS
B2
REASONABLE DOWD
Hamm owns the Emmy’s
RYAN DOWD I returned to the Emmy’s Monday night to revisit Jon Hamm’s long-awaited victory, Viola Davis’ righteous fury, and the (no longer surprising in retrospect) grand victory for Game of Thrones. But I write (and talk and think) enough about Game of Thrones. If the Emmy’s are about anything besides fancy clothes and the entertainment industry publicly patting themselves on the back (they’re surprisingly flexible when they want to be), it’s about labeling what shows really matter right now. In today’s pop culture scene, that’s an increasingly hard feat. Most of us watch and listen to things on our own time. Few of us listen to the radio or sit down at 8 p.m. on Tuesday nights to watch Friends. I’ve been trying to talk to people about Brandon Flowers’ The Desired Effect and Carly Rae Jepson’s Emotion for weeks and months now. I’ve had moderate success getting people to watch You’re the Worst, and, in the dark times, ecouraging folks to keep watching Game of Thrones. For a bunch of reasons—streaming services, sheer number of television shows, Tidal/Spotify/iTunes—there is no real center to pop culture anymore. The portion of the
‘Until Dawn’ puts its characters in your shaking hands BY ALEC FRASER For The Heights
Many would dismiss Until Dawn as a simple point-and-click adventure loaded with cut scenes. Honestly, they wouldn’t be completely wrong. Somehow though, Until Dawn still manages to provide sensory frights and emotionally demanding choices. As the first game of this caliber by relatively new studio UNTIL DAWN Supermassive Games Supermassive Games, Until Dawn carves a place for itself in the horror genre. The heart of Until Dawn’s gameplay revolves around choosing between dialogue options, quick-time events, and clue exploration. True to life, choices will often have to be made in split seconds without knowledge of future impact, and the decisions usually aren’t good or bad—they’re simply a choice. These decisions often lead to noticeable consequences and for some the unchangeable results can be frustrating, but this isn’t a quit-reload-your-last save type of game. The weight of the experience comes from the emotional high of rousing victory or crushing defeat. For the most part, the choices feel impactful and the game encourages you to take note of its various clues and totems, which provide you with visions of future
That’s what, I think, the Emmy’s tried to do Sunday night. The show tried to reestablish a center of (televised or streamed) pop culture. A lot of people watch and talk about Game of Thrones, so let’s crown it. Hamm’s Don Draper was a monumental television character, so let’s give him another chance to tie a bow on it. Music has had an even tougher time finding a center (besides T-Swift) than any other legion of pop culture. I am—somewhat ironically—not a very adventurous music fan. If you see me out there on the streets, I’m probably listening to A) The National B) Bon Iver C) Eric Church D) Jason Isbell E) Carly Rae Jepsen. But I’m trying to be better, and the song that keeps getting thrown at me by various and now suspicious Spotify playlists is Hasley’s “New Americana.” In the song, the New Jersey native with the mysterious moniker and blue hair, belts, “We are the new Americana / High on legal marijuana / Raised on Biggie and Nirvana /
dangers and fortunes, to guide you to safety. There was only one instance near the end where I felt cheated by a single choice resulting in the death of three of my character’s friends and often times the totems can be cryptic, but the overall experience manages to hold together well. The story will seem remarkably cliche at first, and perhaps this is what the game wants, as it slowly pulls you into its own unique world. You start the game switching off between eight obnoxious, horny young adults at their yearly retreat in a mountain cabin one year after the mysterious disappearance of two of the group’s friends. Initially, most of the characters fit stereotypical horror archetypes from the douchey jock and his bitchy girlfriend to the nerd who’s too afraid to profess his love. At the beginning of the game you might ask yourselves if these people are—and if this game is—for real. As the story progresses, however, you learn about the insecurities and quirks of each character and by the end of things you’ll be screaming for their survival as they dodge murderous fiends and leap over icy drops. One of the most interesting things the story does is make you question who’s really out to get you, as multiple seeming “villains” are thrown at you from the start with evidence subtly provided as to who’s the real threat. To be quite honest, you might have no idea what’s going on for the first half
SUPERMASSIVE GAMES
‘Until Dawn’ Engineers Design Realistic Characters to Ensure Engaging Experience During Play. of the game, but that’s what makes it so entertaining as you struggle to understand each piece of the puzzle, which also makes the game a great group experience. Along with terrified embraces and conjecturing amongst the group on possible plot directions we of course assigned each other ingame characters. The graphics of Until Dawn are engaging with special attention given to character faces to provide a more realistic range of emotions, which Supermassive Games used to an almost humorous effect. Peter Stormare’s (Fargo) performance provided an interesting psychological aspect to the story. Stormare aside, the rest of the cast does a solid voice job without sounding too cheesy
and the ambient music sufficiently rises to nerve chattering crescendos before climactic scare moments—such as being forced to pull back a damn shower curtain—cause you to jump out of your seat. A $60 tag is steep for Until Dawn given that it is relatively short and has only moderate replay value—the only different outcomes are those in which this or that character lives and the story still plays out relatively the same, just without whichever fool you killed. I would, however, recommend to play this game at some point with friends and share in the agony of having to cut your own fingers free from a bear trap or risk prying them out as death comes charging at you on a timer.
Seasonal limbo: When fashion hits the fall equinox
cultural venn diagram where we all overlap is ever-shrinking.
Thursday, September 24, 2015
ARIELLE CEDENO I woke up this morning at 8:45 a.m.—15 minutes before I had to be in Gasson for my 9 a.m. In a haze, I threw on leggings, a long-sleeve Nike driFit, sneakers, and after consulting my weather app and seeing it was a brisk 60 degrees outside, grabbed a raincoat (it wasn’t even raining?). By 11 a.m., the strong mid-morning sun proved much too hot for my shirt-and-unnecessaryraincoat combo, forcing me to make the trek back to my room at noon to change into a much more reasonable tank. By the late evening, however, it was now a chilly 61 degrees and I found myself regretting the lost raincoat. This is the dilemma of the summer-fall limbo. These are confusing times. It’s nearly the close of September—it should be
about time for us all to formally say our goodbyes to the days of summer and embrace the onset of fall in all of its pumpkin-flavored glory. Wednesday marked the autumnal equinox and with it, the official start of fall—except it’s not that easy. Step outside between the hours 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., and Summer is still there—hanging in the heat and humidity of the air, lingering. Summer is the guy who stays too long after the party is over, and fall is the guy hosting the party. Party’s over, Summer. Go home, you’re drunk. Eventually, Summer does go home— usually as the clock strikes 7 p.m. Just when you were starting to warm up to him, Summer leaves this seasonal party, and the air becomes cooler, more brisk. This strange amalgamation of seasons and temperatures and humidity leaves us all a little confused, at least sartori-
ally. It doesn’t quite feel like fall yet, but summer is definitely over—where does that leave us, and most importantly, how does that leave our closets? This time of seasonal transition and sartorial confusion makes for a very entertaining walk around campus—the temperature clash makes for an interesting juxtaposition of outfits. It’s clear who is ready for this seasonal transition, and who is not: there are those who are embracing fall with open arms, with scarves on their necks and pumpkinspiced lattes in hand, and those who are still holding on to the final strands of summer, refusing to pack away the shorts. Within one group of people, it is not uncommon to see one person wearing a sundress and sandals, another wearing corduroys and riding boots, and a opting out of this whole dilemma with some athleisure (my outfit of choice
today). Wherever you fall on the spectrum of seasonal dressing, it’s probably best to shoot for somewhere in the middle. Sandals seem a bit passe, riding boots premature—maybe go for some ankle boots, or loafers. Layers are also a good option when dealing with fluctuating temperatures. There is really no one right way to go about this situation, I think, so get creative. Sweaters with skirts, dresses with light jackets, shorts with pullovers—anything goes in this seasonal limbo. And, according to weather.com, this in-between season is going nowhere: Thursday’s forecast has a high of 72 and a low of 53. Best of luck out there.
Arielle Cedeno is an editor for The Heights. She can be reached at arts@ bcheights.com.
We are the new Americana.” It’s an anthem the artist imagines its listeners shout in some rave somewhere on those legal drugs. It’s like Swift’s “Style” without, you know, the style. It feels like it was manufactured by scientists trying to mix the essences of Swift, Lorde, and Lana. To be fair to Hasley, most of her new album is actually pleasantly weird. I’m just a bit miffed because “americana” is a genre of music that, in my adventure, I’m growing fond of (see Jason Isbell)—it’s not a category for teens who have posters of Biggie and Nirvana but don’t know the words to “Ten Crack Commandments” and haven’t seen Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged. Nor is it for those who love James Dean but haven’t seen Rebel Without a Cause. If “New Americana” blows up like I imagine it will, I’ll be sad (and then I’ll have to listen to more of The National), because it’s a really inauthentic song. That’s what a few moments at the Emmy’s got right. It was authentic. When Hamm won Best Actor, you could see the weight of 16 fruitless nominations roll off his shoulder. He climbed up the stage and shuffled to the mic. Don Draper always knew what to say. He was always in control. And Hamm sort of stumbled through the first half of his speech before staring and smiling off into the void, thanking all the families who’ve taken him in over the years. It happened again when Armando Iannucci (outgoing showrunner of Emmywinning, Washington satire Veep) came to the mic—the Brit said, “If Veep is about one thing … it’s about hope.” Hmm. “The hope that anyone in America, no matter what their background, their race, or creed—anyone, if they work hard, can just miss out on getting the top job .... or get it if their boss is mentally incapacitated or killed ….” It’s thoroughly human humor—thoroughly Veep. We’re all the same and we’re all probably going to fail at whatever we do. And that’s funny, as it always is on Veep. And that’s all you can hope for at the center of pop culture, that the art reflects what it’s like to be human, to be humble like Hamm, not false like whoever’s peddling “New Americana.”
Ryan Dowd is the Arts & Review Editor for The Heights. He can be reached at arts@bcheights.com.
DREW HOO / HEIGHTS EDITOR
THIS WEEKEND in arts
BY: CHRIS FULLER | ASSOCIATE ARTS & REVIEW EDITOR
BOSTON CALLING (FRIDAY THROUGH SUNDAY)
MADONNA (SATURDAY, 8 P.M.)
Three-day passes and daily tickets are still available for Boston Calling’s epic lineup this weekend. Come see the Avett Brothers, Alabama Shakes, Of Mice And Men, CHVRCHES, and many more perform at City Hall Plaza.
GAELIC ROOTS (THURSDAY, 6:30 P.M.)
The Theology & Ministry Library auditorium on Boston College’s Brighton Campus will ring with traditional Celtic music this Thursday. Rose, Eugene, and John Clancy will be performing. Admission is free.
‘HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 2’ (OPENS FRIDAY)
Worried that his half-human grandson isn’t going to grow up to be a vampire when he’s older, Dracula gathers his monster friends to help him bring out the true ghoul in his grandson before time runs out.
Eighties pop-sensation Madonna will be performing at the TD Garden in Boston this weekend. She will be playing from her collection of hits as well as songs off her latest album. Tickets are available to tdgarden.com. WARNER BROS. PICTURES
‘THE INTERN’ (OPENS FRIDAY)
POPS ON THE HEIGHTS (FRIDAY, 8 P.M.)
Seventy-year-old widower Ben Whittaker (Robert de Niro) finds himself bored and lonely in retirement and joins an online fashion publisher run by Jules Ostin (Anne Hathaway) as a senior intern.
Lisa Fischer, Darlene Love, and Judith Hill, featured in the 2013 Academy Award winning film, Twenty Feet From Stardom, will be performing this year’s Pops on the Heights as a part of the Parents Weekend program this weekend..
JOSH GROBAN (FRIDAY, 8 P.M.)
‘SICARIO’ (LIMITED OPENING)
Singer-songwriter Josh Groban will be performing at the Wang Theatre this Friday night. He will be presenting selections from his upcoming album, Stages. Tickets are available at citicenter.org.
Mexican drug cartels are wreaking havoc on both sides of the border. Deciding that the terror must end, the U.S. government sends a joint task force to disrupt or diminish the cartel’s presence along the border.
THE HEIGHTS
Thursday, September 24, 2015
B3
A FULLER PICTURE
Back in love with games
CHRIS FULLER
GREYSEASONMUSIC.COM
Time for Grey Season Hometown heroes set to open Boston Calling on Saturday
G
By Summer Lin | Asst. Arts & Review Editor
uitarist Matt Knelman first heard singer and guitarist Jon Mils through the thin dormitory walls of 98 Hemenway St. at Berklee College of Music back in 2011. The two had only met once before during an orientation session their freshman year, but Knelman didn’t need to see Mils to know that he liked his sound. One night, Chris Bloniarz had been getting ready to go to bed when he heard Knelman and Mils playing guitar and singing outside on the street. Bloniarz ran to grab his banjo and joined in on what eventually became “Lost and Found,” and Grey Season’s first song as a band. Born in Boston, the five-piece folk rock band has come a long way since its beginnings at Berklee. In between jamming together out on the streets, recording a full-length album, Time Will Tell You Well, and finishing out the last leg of its East Coast music festival tour at the third-semiannual Boston Calling Music Festival this weekend, Grey Season has been keeping more than busy in the past year. In 2012, Mils moved into a house in Allston, Mass. with bassist Ian Jones, who had been friends with drummer Ben Burns since junior high. Grey Season added its fourth and fifth members when the band decided to bring Jones and Burns into the studio with them to record Troilus, their debut EP. The trio enjoyed the new sound so much that it brought Jones and Burns on as full members. They weren’t hired guns by any means—they had taken their music to a whole new level. “I’m in a position of privilege in so many ways and also as a human being,” Burns said. “What I value about being in a band doesn’t have to do with what’s happening externally. The reality is you could play every fest in the U.S. and there could be a lack of chemistry or sustainability in the band dynamic.” Some of Grey Season’s fondest memories have come from its time spent busking or street performing. A few years back, the band was playing in Harvard when a couple dressed in full ballroom garb began dancing in front of the group. A girl contacted them later saying she was touched by the performance
and that she worked for a skydiving camp in Maine. The next thing they knew, the band was playing music in exchange for free skydiving sessions. “It’s just a fun, no-stakes, have a good time type of performing experience,” Bloniarz said. “There’s none of that built in stress when it comes with playing a real gig. People come and people go, and it’s very organic. It’s really satisfying to see a crowd of 60 or so people all stopped and standing on the street. You’re holding them and they all want to keep listening.” Grey Season has come a long way since its days spent busking on Newbury St. and playing at local bars and radio stations. After a show one night at the Middle East in Cambridge, producer Benny Grotto approached the band and asked if it was interested in recording a full-length album. A successful Kickstarter campaign and several weeks of recording sessions at Levon and Bond Studio later—and the rest is history. For Grey Season, music has always served as a common thread. The son of a saxophonist and an Irish bluegrass singer, Burns chose to play drums in the fourth grade because he was too embarrassed to be on stage and wanted to be in the back. Jones was raised in a classic rock household, where the Beatles and the Rolling Stones were common background noise and old recording equipment filled the basement walls. While Knelman and Jones bonded over their shared love of blues, Bloniarz was a mandolin player from Long Island with an affinity for rock and roll. Mils then brought his blend of traditional Irish folk music and classic rock to the band’s unique sound. “Folk rock influence comes from the best medium that we could find between maintaining the power of song and the value of acoustic performance, with our angsty, youthful need to rock out,” Burns said. While other bands might have hit a snag trying to reconcile such varied sound influences, Burns describes the process as a “clashing of different sensibilities.” Mils, Burns, and Jones serve as the group’s main songwriters, with Mils focusing on lyrics and Jones working on melody and song structure. With a folk
rock- and-roll sound, the band has the best success when it isn’t writing plugged in. At its core, Grey Season is a band bolstered by its versatility, with each member skilled in playing more than one instrument and working through a song as a unit by deferring to each other’s best talents. Grey Season truly came together as a band while on tour. A major milestone came this year when it performed at South by Southwest (SXSW). After being chosen to perform at Bonnaroo, the band recalled long nights crammed in a car together driving down to Tennessee, the communal nature of being backstage, and spontaneous on-stage collaborations. The concentrated amount of diehard music fans was an added bonus. “We’re usually happiest when we’re on the road going somewhere together,” Bloniarz said. “That’s when we bond the most, when we’re the most excited. When we’re in a car or on a plane going somewhere, it gives us a much needed jump start to revitalize our spirit and our enthusiasm to be around each other.” Grey Season has blazed its way through the music festival circuit, starting with SXSW, Newport Folk Festival, Lowell Summer Series, Bonnaroo, and finishing with the Boston Calling Music Festival. For Grey Season, unsuspecting nights and incognito connections seem to go hand in hand. Back in March, Grey Season was playing a showcase down at SXSW when someone had seen the band’s set and connected it with Boston Calling. A panel ultimately selected Grey Season, along with Dirty Bangs and Bully, to play at the festival. “We honestly have been so blessed when we’re standing backstage, we’ll be like seeing a lot of our favorite artists and it almost feels like we’re going to get kicked out because we don’t belong there,” Burns said. “There are a lot of other bands that are just as good as us and we don’t take that for granted. We’re trying to soak it all in. It’s all happening really fast.” At the rate that Grey Season is moving—with an album slated to release next spring and a new live music video set to come out after Boston Calling—it doesn’t look like it is planning on slowing down anytime soon.
Dirty Bangs talks Boston Calling and life on the road BY SUMMER LIN Asst. Arts & Review Editor Scattered across five different zip codes and split between two states, Dirty Bangs was the “band that wasn’t supposed to be anything.” It turned out to be nothing short of magic. Bangs has come a long way since its show at Baby’s Alright in Brooklyn, where the band came together for the first time. In the last year alone, Dirty Bangs has recorded at the Bridge Studio in Cambridge (where Weezer famously recorded Pinkerton), performed at South by Southwest (SXSW), and will return to its roots this weekend for Boston Calling Festival. For vocalist Evan Kenney, drummer Rob Motes, bassist Ben Voskeritchian, guitarist Steven Lord, keyboardist Anthony Valera, and guitarist Jesse Vuona, Dirty Bangs was the culmination of over a decade of different musical projects. We sat down with New York native Steven Lord and discussed life on the road and how “universe magic” launched Dirty Bangs onto its first festival circuit. Scene: How did the band get started? Lord: Dirty Bangs has lots of members from other bands. We’ve been playing music together for a better part of 10 years or so just in different projects and bands. Dirty Bangs formed at the end of all of that when me, Evan, and Jesse, the singer and guitar player, were playing in a band and that kind of fizzled out. We took a hiatus for a bit just to recollect our thoughts and figure out the next thing we wanted to tackle, whether we wanted to throw in the towel or try another project.
Evan started sending me some tracks that he was recording on his own and I was taking his tracks and rebuilding them. We built this really nice thing where we didn’t just want it to have it sit, because for a while it was just sitting on a hard drive. And then magically all of a sudden, we got offered a tour down in Texas in March for SXSW and we didn’t even have a band yet. So we had to form a band to do that. The tour was with our really good friend and his band Tigerman Whoa. We ended up recruiting two members from the band called These Wild Plains, where I was also the bassist. It ended up being this really great family experience. Scene: When did you and the rest of Dirty Bangs first get into music? Lord: I got started pretty young. My dad is a guitar player and he was in a band for pretty much my entire childhood. I would go to their practices and listen to them play “Smoke on the Water” and Eric Clapton songs. So that’s what got me hooked and I asked him to teach me guitar. I have slight ADD, so I started playing drums and bass and wanted to hop onto any instrument I could. I think everyone else has a similar background in that sense. Jesse’s dad was in a bunch of different bands in the ’70s, but everyone has some sort of musical background to some extent. Scene: How does the songwriting process usually go? Lord: With Dirty Bangs, I usually play everything personally and I do that all on my computer and in the studio. Evan is the lyricist. He’s the man behind the curtain. Everything we’ve released thus far was done all on my
computer with Evan sending me skeleton tracks with him playing guitar and singing. It started out as me and Evan writing everything and presenting it to the guys, but now it’s more, “Alright this is my idea what do you think?” It takes on a completely new beast once we show it to the next guy. They’re full members and they’re not hired guns by any means. Scene: So the question that everyone wants to ask is, “Why Dirty Bangs?” Lord: Dirty Bangs came from a suggestion from a friend who has been around for all these different projects and has been with us through thick and thin. We were kind of just brainstorming some names and Dirty Bangs worked the best. Scene: What it was like at SXSW? Lord: It was 12 to 13 guys opening for the AT&T center down in Texas. All the bands that I’ve been in were with pretty much all of these guys and we spent a reasonable amount of touring. That’s how Dirty Bangs first started writing music live and got a feel for each other outside of the computer. SXSW was a very important trip for us because it was when we really started playing together as a band. We got to know each other better, we partied together, we drove for hours together, we slept in grimy hotels together. We also have a few festivals coming up, like Boston Calling. That is probably the most professionally-done performance. We’re playing a major stage with a lot of big acts, and it’s going to be quite an honor. Scene: How did you guys get that gig? Lord: That was some old school rock and
roll s—t right there. We got offered this tour when we didn’t even have a band. When we were on tour we were like, this is pretty fun. We didn’t have any merch, we didn’t have anything. Two days after the show, we get an email that said, “Hey, we heard about you on the road. Do you want to play Boston Calling?” That’s basically how that happened. Universe magic right there. Scene: How would you describe the band’s sound? Lord: We coined the “rock and roll soul” description because it started as me and Evan listening to The War on Drugs a lot so when we were writing all these records and songs, they had this strong War on Drugs feel. The band varies so much from member to member. When we’re on the road we’re listening to Deep South country and we all used to play punk and hardcore, that’s not that we play like that today. Right now it’s soul. We took a soul turn and keep it real dirty, no pun attended. Scene: What’s next for Dirty Bangs? Lord: We have a whole record full of songs ready to be released. We have a whole bunch of festivals we’re going to play. That’s the dream. It’s just to keep going on these great festival circuits. I live in New York City and the rest of the guys are spread out around Massachusetts. We try to really conquer these two major markets. The idea is to release another record probably in the winter and try to make as many festivals as possible until the weather gets snowy and cold. Dirty Bangs isn’t about to go anywhere. There are a lot of good things coming up in the next year.
For how magical they really are, it has been a long time since video games have felt monumental or awe-inspiring. Up until a couple of years ago, I didn’t realize the confines of most video games. Rubbleridden fields weren’t just the limit of the level’s design, it was simply an obstacle in I couldn’t get past. These days, I’m plagued by the fact that every closed door holds nothing but empty space. I’m fully ripped out of the experience of gaming when I notice this linear track that consistently limits my character. To be fair, this disappointment is entirely my fault. I’m not making this point to say that video game developers don’t do a great job crafting their universes and stories. I’m saying that after 16 or 17 years of playing video games, I’ve lost the perspective of how truly amazing video game worlds are. Maybe I think this way because of the fact that I play a lot of video games that are seven or eight titles into the series, or that I don’t play complex strategy games that ask for a player’s undivided attention. As awesome as Assassin’s Creed sounded back in 2007, 16 games later, the concept feels pretty worn out. Again, is it my fault that I’ve bought into these huge AAA series? Sure, but I’ve learned to choose a bit more carefully. This year in video games has injected a little bit of my old fervor back in me. A couple sequels to some of my favorite series of the last decade have reminded me just how magical the video game experience can be. The Dark Knight returned in all of his glory to gaming platforms this summer in the fourth (and hopefully final) installation of the Arkham Asylum franchise. Batman: Arkham Knight, being the first game in the series to be designed for the Playstation 4 and Xbox One, looked absolutely incredible. Gotham City, with its three very diverse islands, has never been so intricate or accessible as it was in this video game. No comic or movie has ever really given Gotham an amazing visual presence in my opinion and Arkham Knight delivered a stunning setting with very differently stylized districts and buildings. The main plot was a bit convoluted, and since I rarely ever play video games to go through the main storyline, I was amazed at how much fun I had just being in the immersive Gotham City that Rocksteady developers created. Just the other day I picked up Hideo Kojima’s Metal Gear Solid V and while Metal Gear has always featured an epically-scaled setting, I’ve never felt so free to approach a video game’s objectives in my own way as I have with Metal Gear Solid V. How each mission plays out in the game is entirely up to the player. You’re given an objective at the beginning of a mission (i.e. capture the Soviet engineer in a base) and the level is entirely handed over to the player from there. You get to decide if you sneak into a base or charge in guns blazing, and it’s obvious that there are advantages and disadvantages to each way of approaching an objective. While the missions’ settings in Metal Gear Solid V aren’t that massive, the options you’re given as a player are expansive enough that you don’t feel limited in any sense of what you are capable of doing. Later this year, DICE developers will release the reboot of the Star Wars: Battlefront franchise, and I already know that my grades will take a huge blow in November when it comes out. I’m starting to hate first-person shooters. Call of Duty and Battlefield have worn out their welcomes for me. Blasters, lightsabers, X-wings, and TIE fighters, on the other hand, are always welcome in my book. How could I possibly resist flying the Millennium Falcon, shooting down Imperials left and right? Even when it comes to what I see as the most limited type of video game experience, I still see hope for the future. Have I hit a lull in video gaming in the last couple years? Yes. But that doesn’t mean I’m done with them. Even if these games are confined to the same limitations that have taken me away from my love of video games, they’re still great enough to bring me back to the days when Star Fox 64 and Paper Mario were all I needed in life.
Chris Fuller is the Assoc. Arts & Review Editor for The Heights. He can be reached at arts@bcheights.com.
THE HEIGHTS
B4
Thursday, September 24, 2015
Ryan Adams puts Swift’s ‘1989’ to the test with rock ‘n’ roll BY PHOEBE FICO For the Heights Cover albums can be a risky business. The original album or selection of songs have to be good enough for the artist to want to cover, and the secondary artist has to bring something new. You must imbue the songs with a new sense of meaning, unearth it like fresh pearls from the depths of the ocean. It is a paradox, a circle from which the artist might not be able to escape.
Ryan Adams’ new album offers this sort of conundrum. When Adams decided to redo Taylor Swift’s most recent effort, 1989, it came as a bit of a surprise. For one, 1989 was Swift’s weakest album since her first self-titled one. At times she fell victim to the stereotypes of the genre with lyrics that were bland and repetitive where they used to be razor sharp (“Welcome to New York,” “All You Had To Do Was Stay,” and “This Love”). While other songs seemed reductive of the pop
divas of today—like Lana Del Rey on “Wildest Dreams” and Imogen Heap on “Clean”—rather than the ’80s she said that it had been inspired by. Secondly, this was Swift’s “first official pop album”—as all of the press materials reminded us—and Adams is an Americana superstar, whose musical stylings are more akin to Swift’s country music beginnings. How would these songs fare without the feverish synth production of pop juggernauts Max Martin and Shellback
ALBUM
1989 RYAN ADAMS PRODUCED BY PAX AM RECORDS RELEASED SEP. 21, 2015 OUR RATING
PAX AM RECORDS
and Bleachers’ Jack Antonoff? Or when they were stripped down to Adams’ signature sparse production of simply guitar, piano, and strings? The answer, like the original album itself, is a mixed one. Sometimes, Adams’ seemingly perpetual melancholy works in his favor and the lush strings add dimension to the songs where there wasn’t much—or at times it detracts from the songs original intentions. One of the songs Adams enhances is the album’s first, “Welcome to New York.” (He keeps Swift’s original listing melody.) Originally, “New York” was lambasted by critics as the gentrification anthem for a city that was once glorified for its soot by Lou Reed. Swift’s original version was bland at best. The strangest lyrics she could muster being, “And you can want who you want / Boys and boys and girls and girls” with a synth backing that was one note, hard and industrial, as though she was only looking up at the sky spacer, forgetting that there was warmth and people below. Adams changes all of this with rushing guitar charges and stops and starts. It has an exciting energy of a small-town boy exploring the big city for the first
time, full of hope for the future. His raspy voice strains into an excited desperation on the lines: “Like any great love / It keeps you guessing / Like any real love / It’s ever changing / Like any true love / It drives you crazy.” It reminds you that love, true love, can be with a place, not just with a person, even if that love is unrequited. Similarly, his take on “Out of the Woods” turns it into a mediation on a relationship past rather than a feverish dream of falling in love. It shows the song in a new light and it’s just as good as the original. Adams falls flat in some places, like when he takes on “Blank Space.” With a trap-inspired beat and snide, sarcastic lyrics about the way the media portrays her, it was the album’s best track. Adams’ version feels like a fingerpicked love song that kind of misses the point. Similarly, in Adams’ hands the second-best track on the record, “Style,” doesn’t hold the excitement of Swift’s James Dean picking her up at midnight. In the end, Adams’ 1989 is an interesting experiment for such an alternative icon to take on a pop one. But ultimately, this album just shows how big of a superstar Taylor Swift really is.
Blunt gets lost in Mexican maze and cartel thriller ‘Sicario’ BY CHRIS FULLER Assoc. Arts & Review Editor If there’s anything that can be said about Denis Villeneuve’s drug-cartel thriller, it’s that Sicario is definitely a wild rollercoaster ride. It’s wild in the sense that, as a viewer, you’ll be jolted up, down, left and right throughout the entirety of the film. And while that might be fun during the film, you might walk away with a stiff neck and a sharp pain in your lower back wondering what you enjoyed about the ride in the first place. Emily Blunt stars as Kate Macer, a relentless do-gooder FBI agent who is asked to join a joint task force with supposed Department of Defense advisors Matt Graver (Josh Brolin) and the mysterious and elusive Alejandro (Benicio del Toro). The team is vigorously aiming to take down or at least draw out the kingpin of the Mexican drug cartel, as violence and mayhem in both Mexico and the U.S. border states are at an all-time high. The only true flaw of Sicario is Emily Blunt’s character. Kate is entirely shoe-horned into this film to be the voice of the relentless yet law-abiding government official that questions the not-so-necessarily-legal means of cracking down on the Mexican drug cartel. Is the conversation that her character introduces into the story an important, sophisticated, and realistic discussion the film should bring up?
Yes. But it’s in the execution of her development, her introduction, why she’s brought along on these missions, and why she stays with these agents throughout the film that make little to no sense. That isn’t to say that Blunt did a bad job in the part. Her character’s struggle comes off as very believable and understandable, it’s just that her character’s placement in the film seems very skewed from reality. At first, Brolin’s Matt Graver comes off as unnecessarily blunt, outlandish, and such a cliche “doesn’tplay-by-the-rules” government agent that it’s almost easy to dismiss Graver as unrealistic and distracting. Throughout the film, however, his intentions are delved into enough that his character’s coldness and apparent lack of humanity are redeemed by his true motives. Brolin’s gravitas (for lack of a better word) lends itself handily to both of these points in the film. The real treasure of Sicario is Benicio del Toro. Del Toro steals the spotlight in every scene he’s in. His presence and stone-cold countenance fit perfectly into the murky and abhorrent atmosphere that Sicario exudes. Especially when things get hairy, the film makes it abundantly clear that the last place you would ever want to be is near del Toro. He’s absolutely horrifying. Black Label Media, Sicario’s production company, seems to understand how great of a character it has come across. The
company has already got a sequel (or possibly a prequel) to Sicario in the works that will solely focus on del Toro’s Alejandro. Sicario reminds audiences that haven’t seen del Toro in many mainstream roles in the last decade just how spectacular he really is and serves as an excellent basis of excitement for his recent casting in Star Wars: Episode VIII. Del Toro isn’t the only notable contributing factor to Sicario’s creepy and menacing tone. There are some grisly and poignant images and environments in this film. Sweeping shots of Juarez, Mexico, a border
city that the U.S. officials in the film are based in, show how packed and devastated the drug-traffic pinnacles of Mexico really are. In many political discussions regarding U.S. involvement and victimization in drug-trafficking, there seems to be a lack of acknowledgement that the conditions on the Mexican side of the border are far worse than a lot of what is happening on our side of the fence. The drug-cartels are merciless to the Mexican people and wreak havoc on their cities and inhabitants day-and-night. Sicario does everything in its power to remind
the audience of this. At the end of the day, Sicario is a high-strung, excitable, and actionpacked thriller with an innate tenseness that keeps you on the edge of your seat for the whole film. It feels like Sicario loses a bit of this edge with its heavy-handed political message, but that message is naturally linked to the subject matter of drug cartels. Could the lines between what was right and what was legal in the characters’ minds have been a little less defined and forced? Yes. But that doesn’t take away from this film’s vigor at all.
FILM
SICARIO DENIS VILLENEUVE PRODUCED BY BLACK LABEL MEDIA RELEASED SEP. 18, 2015 OUR RATING
BLACK LABEL MEDIA
Emerich flees disaster genre for another box-office disaster BY HANNAH MCLAUGHLIN Heights Staff The atmosphere is thick with unrest, the air pierced only by pained cries of the people. A great injustice has happened here, and tensions today are higher than ever before. While the somber scene illustrated above could certainly be applied to the pandemonium that ensued after
senseless police brutality sparked the 1969 Stonewall riots, it more aptly applies to what went down at the press screening of the dishearteningly horrible historical fiction drama, Stonewall. With his newest film’s release date of Sept. 25 looming ominously in the distance, German-born Roland Emmerich adds another disaster film to his repertoire.
Stonewall couldn’t be more whitewashed than if it was doused in Clorox bleach and thrown into the laundry three times over. Hunky midwestern hero Danny (played by Jeremy Irvine) arrives in New York City after being booted out of his childhood home when word gets out that this allAmerican Adonis is gay. Disowned by his football coach father for allegedly seducing the school’s star quarter-
FILM
STONEWALL ROLAND EMMERICH PRODUCED ROADSIDE ATTRACTIONS RELEASED SEP. 25, 2015 OUR RATING
ROADSIDE ATTRACTIONS
back, Danny seeks shelter in the big city, where he plans to tough it out until the fall semester that promises all the cushy comfort of Columbia University. Upon his arrival, Danny meets a ragtag team of transvestites and transgender people led by the charismatic Ray (Jonny Beauchamp), who immediately takes the clueless boy under his wing. While this band of vagabonds is multi-racial, the film’s most prominent characters are white. This particular casting mistake succeeds in brushing notable historically-accurate black and hispanic influence of the gay rights movement under the rug, all while demoting the non-white characters to flamboyant hype-men or undesirable lovers. The protagonist is as one-dimensional as his neat, starch-pressed Tshirt. He is nowhere near the dynamic Herculean hero we want him to be. Conversely, the sole performance deserving of praise is Beauchamp’s. As the only dynamic character in the story, Ray’s entertaining commentary and wit provide multiple moments of relief from an otherwise annoying storyline. The overdramatic acting is laughable, and the stock line-laden dialogue
adds to the unintended hilarity that made critics cringe in their seats. Sappy lines like Danny’s rage-filled “I’M TOO MAD TO LOVE RIGHT NOW. I want to break things,” and “Of course I care about you, you’re my friend,” elicit exaggerated eye rolls from each member of the audience. Everything is overdone. When the film’s cartoon-like villain Mr. Murphy—a shady club-owning criminal with a long record and secret ties to the Mafia—is finally arrested, he is put in a police vehicle and practically shakes an exasperated fist in Danny’s direction. (“And I could’ve gotten away with it, too, if it weren’t for you meddling kids!”) Stonewall is the perfect film for a moviegoer who craves the odd combination of an R-rated flick with reach-for-your-dreams and neverturn-your-back-on-your-true-friends life lessons, all with the added flourish of offensive stereotypes. At one moment in the film, a protester turns calmly to his fellow confidant and says, “This is not good. This is going to get out of hand.” This warning comes tragically late not only for the characters in the film, but also for the audience of film critics who willingly volunteered to review Stonewall.
CHART TOPPERS TOP SINGLES
1 The Hills The Weeknd 2 What Do You Mean? Justin Bieber 3 Can’t Feel My Face The Weeknd 4 Watch Me Silento 5 Good For You Selena Gomez feat. A$AP Rocky 6 Locked Away R. City 7 679 Fetty Wap 8 Cheerleader OMI
TOP ALBUMS
1 Beauty Behind The Madness The Weeknd 2 That’s The Spirit Bring Me The Horizon 3 Illinois Brett Eldredge 4 Replentless Slayer 5 1989 Taylor Swift Source: Billboard.com
MUSIC VIDEO DAN FITZGERALD
“DOWNTOWN” MACKLEMORE
W h e n M a c k l e m o r e ’s “Thrift Shop” music video was released back in the summer of 2012, people like me went crazy over it—and I’m still not sure why. Mayb e it wa s b e cause a mainstream rapper was rhyming about thrift store adventures and not just about sex and drugs, or maybe it was because it was a lighthearted piece of entertainment that didn’t take itself too seriously. W h i ch e v e r i nt a n g i b l e factor made Macklemore’s “Thrift Shop” so successful and popular, it has happened once again in Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’ “Downtown.” The video balances the weird and the epic in an unbelievable mixture. It begins with Macklemore g re eting a mop e d salesman and eventually settling on one that was “800 ca sh … a hell of a deal.” He then drives the moped through the wall and rolls “downtown” with his extravagent crew. This essentially sets the over-the-top tone of the video, full of choreographed street dancing, hilariously dramatic moped motorcade sequences, powerfully anthemic rock hooks by vocalist Eric Nally, and a random guest cameo by retired MLB star Ken Griffey, Jr. Even the clever lyrics and ridiculous, mold-breaking style of “Downtown” are pretty hard not to love. Macklemore has at times proven himself a thoughtful and socially aware artist, penning hits that deal with topics like sexuality (“Same Love”) and substance abuse (“Otherside”). That said, it’s refreshing to see him return to the playful weirdness that catapulted him to massive success three years ago.
SINGLE REVIEWS BY JUAN OLAVARRIA DRAKE & FUTURE “Jumpman”
DAVID GILMOUR “A Boat Lies Waiting”
KEITH RICHARDS “Trouble” Drake did it again. Alongside Future, Drake returns with “Jumpman,” a single off of their new mixtape What A Time To Be Alive. Drake brings his usual lyricism and trademark delivery. His chemistry with Future feels refreshing, but, while it will entertain, it still leaves the listener yearning for a more finished product.
In the fifth single from his new album Crosseyed Heart, Keith Richards shows that he will not be overshadowed by whatever moves Jagger decides to pull. With its distinct ’60s sound, Richards’ solos and riffs give it a rustic feel reminiscent of the glory days of Route 66.
Made famous for his work with Pink Floyd, Gilmour returns with “A Boat Lies Waiting.” With its deeply instrumental core and Gilmour’s enthralling voice, it serves as a worthy tribute to the late Richard Wright. He magically manages to instill both excitement and nostalgia, even after a career spanning six decades.
CLASSIFIEDS
Thursday, January 17, 2014
THE HEIGHTS THE HEIGHTS
B5 B5
Thursday, September 24, 2015
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The Heights
B6
Thursday, September 24, 2015
Olympic sports will be instrumental in rebuilding BC Athletics From Column, B8 but has never made the College Cup Final. Meehan looks determined to change that. Despite spending all of last year on the mend with a freak Achilles injury in preseason, Meehan hasn’t lost a single step out on the field. She moves quickly with confidence around opposing defenses, presenting a challenge to even the best units that the ACC has to offer. Finally, field hockey has been BC’s most competitive sport played away from either the solid or liquid state of water in the past five years. Currently ranked No. 11 in the nation, first-year head coach Kelly Doton’s team picked up right where it left off last season. Already with a signature victory over the No. 3 University of Maryland Terrapins in overtime, the Eagles’ remaining schedule consists mostly of the daunting ACC gauntlet. Despite multiple NCAA Tournament appearances, the Eagles still have yet to advance past the first round of the ACC Tourna-
ment since joining the conference in 2005. A postseason run would do wonders for BC’s reputation in one of the ACC’s most competitive sports. Speaking of reputations, BC’s is below average in the uber-competitive ACC for just that reason—it lacks championships. The Eagles have won only one conference championship since joining the ACC: a men’s soccer title in 2007. The fact that BC’s best sport, ice hockey, is not offered by the ACC does nothing to help this metric, but the point remains. While BC has only been in the conference for about 10 years, some newer members have already jumped the Eagles—the University of Notre Dame and Syracuse University each have two conference championships in just two years of membership. In fact, the only two schools with fewer conference championships than BC are Louisville University and the University of Pittsburgh, which have each joined the conference in the past two years. While it would be great to see
BC football and basketball ascend back to the top of conference, each of those teams has a long way to go before that happens. BC currently doesn’t have the resources to compete with the bigger state schools in the football and basketball department—outdated facilities and a poor track record in the past few years are enough to deter even mid-level recruits. But there is no reason that BC cannot compete with the ACC in Olympic sports. In order for BC to immediately establish itself as a member of the ACC that truly belongs, it needs a stronger showing from those sports, from soccer to field hockey to volleyball. I’m not saying the Eagles need to dominate the way the University of North Carolina women’s soccer team has—the Tar Heels are widely regarded as one of the most successful collegiate teams of all time. But BC’s Olympic programs could be the spark of a bottom-up revamping of BC Athletics. Take the University of Virginia, for example. The Cavaliers have
won 16 men’s national championships, tops in the ACC. Virginia is the reigning men’s champion of the Capital One Cup, acknowledging school-wide success in athletics. Despite the fact that its football program leaves something to be desired, Virginia is a respected and feared member of the ACC. Even though the Hoos have never won a title in football or basketball, they have one of the most impressive track records of any collegiate athletic program. This is a model that BC should strive for—program-wide success, in both men’s and women’s sports. It doesn’t start with football—it should end there. BC’s athletic revitalization begins from the bottom. Those teams have answered the call this season, and there’s still a long way to go. But they’re on the right track, and that’s all that matters.
Tom DeVoto is the Asst. Sports Editor for The Heights. He can be reached at sports@ bcheights.com.
daniella fasciano / heights editor |Amelie trieu / heights staff
BC men’s soccer, women’s soccer, and field hockey have each been very impressive halfway through their respective seasons. BC Athletics’ revitalization effort should run through them, then build up to the high-profile teams.
B7
THE HEIGHTS
Thursday, September 24, 2015
A renewed rushing attack is crucial for BC From BC Preview, B8 the run three games into the 2015 season. Their starting running back, preseason all-ACC selection Jonathan Hilliman, has 79 yards on the season thus far with one touchdown and is averaging 2.9 yards per carry. For an offense that is based on establishing the run to open up the pass, the Eagles’ issues in the run game are alarming. If the Eagles hope to stand any chance against the gritty Huskies, they will have to find a way to consistently win the battle at the line of scrimmage and move the chains on the ground. All the worries about quarterback play in this matchup belong to the Eagles, however, as the Huskies sport one of the most underrated signalcallers in the country: Drew Hare. The junior is coming off a highly successful sophomore campaign in which he led
the Huskies to an 11-3 record behind the strength of a 9:1 touchdown pass to interception ratio. In the first two games of the season (against UNLV and Murray State), Hare completed 78 percent of his passes, threw six touchdowns, and totaled 718 passing yards. Last week in the narrow loss to Ohio State, Hare was limited to just 80 yards passing, failed to throw a single touchdown pass, completed 45 percent of his passes, and threw his first two interceptions of the season. While Hare has proven to be a more-than-capable quarterback, his performance against Ohio State suggests that he can be shut down by a good defense—like BC’s. Though strong overall, the stars of BC’s defense come from the defensive line. Led by upperclassmen Connor Wujciak, Kevin Kavalec, and Tru-
man Gutapfel, and boasting a new breakout star in sophomore defensive end Harold Landry, the Eagles have had great success shutting down opponents’ ground games and getting to the quarterback. Landry in particular has been a force to be reckoned with. Last week against Florida State, Landry totaled 11 tackles, including 4.5 tackles for a loss and 1.5 sacks, good enough to garner the ACC Defensive Lineman of the Week honors. “I thought the defense did a good job against [Florida State],” Landry said following Tuesday’s practice. “Our goal as a defense is to shut the other team down and get three-and-outs, and we were able to do that for most of [Friday’s] game.” The Eagles are counting on Landry to continue his strong play against the Huskies’ potent attack and to create
some turnovers that can help out a young offense. Field position (or lack thereof) was a big culprit in the Eagles’ loss Friday night: on average, they started from the 19-yard line against FSU. “We played on a long field all night, which is not a great place to be for a young football team,” Addazio said. “Good luck with that.” For BC to succeed against the Huskies, its offense will need to start farther up the field than it did against the Seminoles. That will happen if players like Landry create some turnovers in the opposing team’s backfield. In a game that appears to be evenly matched, the Eagles will need toughness from their defense and a reinvigorated rushing attack if they want to win a football game on Parents Weekend for the first time in four years.
NIU looks to shed its mid-major reputation From NIU Preview, B8 tionally untraditional offensive scheme. The offense, which has already amassed three touchdowns of over 45 yards, is built on the read-option and pre-snap motion. The threat of Hare running the football opens lanes for Bouagnon and the receivers. Head coach Rod Carey likes to call for the jet sweep, where a running back will sprint horizontally across the field, passing the QB just after he has taken the snap. They can hand it off, fake it and run with Hale, or use the fake to open passing plays. Ideally, this offense prefers to throw more than it runs the football. Through pre-snap motion and play-action, the Huskies effectively disguise their offense and can run many plays from the same setup. While their passing plays are nothing more complex
than opening space for downfield throws or creating lanes for quick screens, the motion moves defenders to aid the offense. Against BC, look for NIU to be a bit conservative in the passing game, much as they were against OSU. Figure for heavy doses of Hale and Bouagnon on the ground and short throws, as NIU’s offensive line will likely struggle against BC’s top-rated front seven. In fact, the Northern Illinois offense amassed over 22 yards on a drive just once last Saturday. The majority of their points were scored following turnovers created by the defense. This season more than usual, NIU has relied on defensive efforts. Although NIU averages a pedestrian 388 yards allowed per game, Carey’s defense has forced nine turnovers in its first three games, good for fourth-best in the nation. In addition, while
opponents have entered the red zone 10 times against the Huskies’ defense, they have scored a touchdown from that area just twice. While they have not been great at stopping ball movement, the Huskies have excelled at momentum-changing plays and at protecting their end zone. With seven interceptions, including three against the Buckeyes, the secondary eagerly awaits a matchup with BC’s new QBs. To score against the BC defense, NIU will need at least one or two turnovers that create a short field. In order to place BC into those necessary passing scenarios, NIU needs to make BC’s rushing attack as inefficient as possible. This could prove to be a tall order, as Ohio State racked up 162 yards against them on the ground last weekend. The Eagles’ clearly defined run-first philosophy, however,
should give them an edge in terms of how many defenders they can commit to the run. Especially with new QBs, they can expect BC’s play calling to be rather predictable. To counter BC’s size advantage on the offensive line, they can crowd the box, especially when BC uses its heavy packages, with multiple tight ends and a fullback. By shutting down the running game, the defense can force passing situations, in which it can play tight coverage on the BC receivers, forcing Troy Flutie or Jeff Smith to throw into tight windows. These scenarios are critical for NIU to force the turnovers it will need for victory. This week, a close loss that brings the program attention is no longer enough. For NIU, this is the week that they take another step forward to prove that they are not a team to be trifled with.
Can the Eagles rebound with a win over Northern Illinois? Or will the Huskies bring a little MACtion to Chestnut Hill this Saturday? MICHAEL SULLIVAN
Sports Editor The Huskies brought defending champion Ohio State to the brink last Saturday, losing by the thin margin of 20-13. If the Eagles want any shot at beating Northern Illinois, the y ’ll have to do it with the strength of their defense, still the nation’s best. Though NIU has a high-powered offense, Ohio State slowed it down considerably. Look for BC, and the country’s best defense, to do the same.
Prediction: BC 14, N. Illinois 10 JACK STEDMAN
Assoc. Sports Editor Well, I got one half of the score right last week, except BC scored 18 fewer points than I predicted. So naturally I am going with BC to score three (gasp) touchdowns and regain their power run game from last year. BC’s defense will get it done, so it falls on the offense. When everyone least expects it, the Eagles offense surprises. Time to go bold, Addazio. I’ll be right there with you.
Prediction: BC 21, N. Illinois 10 JAY LAPRETE / AP PHOTO
Northern Illinois quarterback Drew Hare threw 18 touchdowns last season with only two interceptions while rushing for 900 yards and eight touchdowns.
TOM DEVOTO
Eagles capitalize on defensive miscues From Men’s Soccer, B8 ing that there will be defenders behind him. The 4-1-4-1 formation that head coach Ed Kelly introduced this season is paying off for the attack. With four at the back, Bibas in a destroyer role in front of the backline, and Balf providing a calm in the middle, the likes of Lewis, Enstrom, Davock, and a now-healthy Ike Normesinu can charge forward at will. “At times, it was electric,” Kelly said. “We were explosive.” While still sporting a lineup filled mostly with freshmen and sophomores, the more experienced players on the team are coming back into the fold.
Normesinu, last year’s leading scorer, has taken Lewis’ original spot in the outside midfield. The fifth-year senior Ampadu has also made a positional switch from defensive midfield to center back, taking the spot of the freshman Emanuel Estrada. Kelly stressed the importance of Ampadu’s experience as Estrada adjusts to the college game. Ever vocal, Ampadu subdued the Huskies’ attack with strength on the ball and was “the best player on the field,” in Kelly’s opinion. Most notably, Alex Kapp started his first game of the year and did not look out of place, coming up with veteran saves on a couple occassions. UConn’s only goal of the game came in the
FOOTBALL
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63rd minute off the leg of Alex Sanchez. A rocket of a shot from distance, Kapp could do nothing about it. If only for a moment, the Huskies looked like they could claw their way back into the game after coming out strong in the second half. Kapp and the other returners making their way back into the mix will be vital as the Eagles look toward top-notch ACC competition on the schedule. While this freshman class has certainly added a serious explosiveness to the team, inexperience will hurt the Eagles against the toughest teams. “Sometimes we get a little bit—not cocky—but we are goof-
CHESTNUT HILL, MA 9/18
14 COOK 15 CAR, 54 YDS 0 WADE 4-12, 47 YDS, INT
VOLLEYBALL BC 3 CONN 0
CAMBRIDGE, MA 9/19 MOFFAT 25 A STRAWBERRY 5 DIGS
volleyball BC 3 HARV 2
FIELD HOCKEY CUSE 3 BC 2
ing around and flicking, trying to do stuff,” Kelly said. “We just have to play direct.” Following the game, the team, coaches included, is lax and goofing around, which is to be expected after a win. This win is especially big, as UConn holds a 31-8-3 series advantage of the Eagles dating back to 1974. The mark of a truly great team, though, is to be as loose as possible off the field, but determined and mentally in it come game time. With Lewis coming into his own and older players seeing more minutes, the Eagles are starting to have the right mixture of young talent and experienced leadership.
cambridge, ma 9/18 M. SOCCER WORKMAN 25 KILLS PITT BAIN 20 DIGS BC
0 2
Asst. Sports Editor Head coach Steve Addazio showed next to no faith in injured quarterback Darius Wade, so what does that say about the faith he has in Jeff Smith and Troy Flutie? If this offense couldn’t score with Wade, it likely won’t be any better with an inferior quarterback calling the shots. BC’s defense will likely stand tall once again, but look for NIU to score at least one defensive or special teams touchdown.
Prediction: N. Illinois 21, BC 7
NEWTON, MA 9/19 LYND 2 SVS DAVOCK 1 G 1 A
NEWTON, MA 9/19 W. SOCCER
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LAMISON 1 G 1 A LVILLE 0 2 EM. MCCOY 1 G BC
BUCKLIN 2 SVS BERMAN 1 G 1 A
FIELD HOCKEY NU BC
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NEWTON,Ma MA11/11 9/201Boston, CURRY-LINDAHL 1 G MILLER 2 G
m. soccer
Newton, Newton,MA ma11/09 9/22
CONN 1 BC 3
SANCHEZ 1 G LEWIS 2 G 1 A
SPORTS
B8
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2015
Building bottom-up TOM DEVOTO
team, this program has toppled Iowa, Purdue, and Northwestern in the last two seasons. With a reasonable level of confidence, the Huskies look to do the same against a depleted and battered Boston College football team. NIU has traditionally been led by an explosive offense, featuring a dualthreat quarterback and multiple running backs and receivers with great skill in open space. This season’s rendition has sacrificed a bit of the depth of previous squads, but still features capable athletes. Junior QB Drew Hare leads the team. The veteran signal caller tallied 900 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns against two interceptions in 2014 and has shown his talents in the early parts of 2015. With NIU’s lack of depth at running back, junior Joel Bouagnon has become a workhorse, with 57 carries already in 2015. Kenny Golladay, a junior transfer from North Dakota, has emerged as an explosive weapon from a thin wide receiving corps, accounting for 45 percent of NIU’s total receiving yardage and ranking sixth nationally with 376 yards. Despite lacking its usual assortment of players, NIU has retained its tradi-
The Boston College Athletics experience revolves primarily around the “Big Three”: football, basketball, and hockey. Attendance is limited almost exclusively to the men’s editions of the latter two sports, so—wrongly, but for our purposes—exclude women’s basketball and women’s hockey from the most popular and engaging BC sports. The “Big Three” get the lion’s share of the attention, the revenue, and the scholarship money. But this year, it will not be all about them. Let’s hear it for the fall Olympic sports. As BC football has struggled— and looks poised to continue to do so with its starting quarterback Darius Wade out for the season—there is a void in the heart of the BC sports fan, and it is dying to be filled. So far, BC men’s soccer, women’s soccer, and field hockey have made cases that they can step up and fill the void. And as we reach the approximate halfway point for each season, all three have been tough to ignore. Men’s soccer has shown the biggest turnaround among BC teams from last season, matching its win total of five with more than half of its schedule remaining. The Eagles currently sit in a tie for second place in the ACC’s Atlantic Division, and seem to be hitting their stride just as they enter the heart of the conference schedule. BC showed its first major signs of improvement by dominating a favored University of Connecticut squad on Tuesday night, as the Huskies have traditionally crushed the Eagles. Led by a career night from junior Zeiko Lewis, BC wore the Huskies down and capitalized on their mental mistakes. Lewis, who has played for the Bermuda National Team in 2018 World Cup Qualifying matches, single-handedly willed BC to score on two different occasions against UConn. Lewis looked like the type of centerpiece that an inexperienced team can build around, the type of player that can alter the outcome of a game with a single masterful sequence. For one night at least, the Eagles looked like a team that could compete with the ACC elites, despite being the youngest team in the conference. Meanwhile, BC women’s soccer boasts a Hermann Trophy candidate in McKenzie Meehan, a redshirt junior whose torrent scoring pace has electrified BC through 10 games. Historically one of BC’s most successful teams, women’s soccer has made the NCAA Tournament 15 times out of the 31 years the Tournament has been played,
See NIU Preview, B7
See Column, B7
RECLAIMING THE RUN
DREW HOO / HEIGHTS EDITOR
The Eagles try to get back to Rule No. 1 against Northern Illinois: Running the football
BY SCOTT HILL For The Heights The Boston College Eagles hope to get back on the winning track against Northern Illinois University on Saturday afternoon, one week removed from a convincing loss to Florida State. The Eagles’ stout defense surrendered only 217 yards on Friday night, but it wasn’t enough to overcome an anemic offensive attack that produced more turnovers than points in a shutout loss. Northern Illinois also lost its perfect record last week, but almost pulled off the upset of the year before it was over. The Huskies fell to defending champion Ohio State 20-13 in the Horseshoe Saturday afternoon in a game which Northern Illinois led and had every opportunity to win. NIU forced five turnovers and held Ohio State’s vaunted duo of quarterbacks to fewer than 150 passing yards combined. The Huskies were well-positioned to tie the game in the fourth quarter trailing by seven, but they failed to register even one first down on any of their final three possessions. BC enters this matchup as a four-point favorite over the visiting Huskies due to its combination of strong defense, status as a Power-Five team, and home field advantage. However, the Eagles will be without their starting quarterback Darius Wade, who has been lost for the season due to a broken
ankle that he suffered in the second half against Florida State. In Wade’s absence, the Eagles will lean on a pair of freshmen, Troy Flutie and Jeff Smith, to guide them to victory. Head coach Steve Addazio has yet to decide which of the freshmen will start on Saturday, although it is widely speculated that both will play. Troy Flutie, the nephew of BC legend Doug Flutie, is the better passer of the two and has a better understanding of the offensive system (having redshirted last year), while Jeff Smith is the superior athlete, capable of supplying the explosive plays that BC desperately needed on Friday night. Understanding that the two quarterbacks bring different skills to the table, Flutie with his arm and Smith with his legs, Addazio promises that “[the coaching staff ] is going to carve out a gameplan that we think will best suit the talents of the guys we have.” If he decides to play both quarterbacks in the game, he’ll “do it less on who has the hot hand and more on packaging.” That said, it won’t matter who lines up at quarterback if the Eagles can’t fix their broken rushing attack. Owners of one of the country’s most effective ground games a year ago, the Eagles have failed to establish
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BY CHRIS NOYES Heights Staff The official scorer recorded it as a loss. An air of disappointment pervaded the locker room, the players citing their expectation to end the game with a victory. In the school’s recent history, the game barely even deserved mention as one of the best. Despite these facts, sometimes the best indicator of a team is how they lose. Specifically, this idea applies to mid-major FBS teams in their matchups against strong Power Five conference opponents. Even with a remarkable streak of five consecutive seasons with at least 11 wins, Northern Illinois University (2-1) reminded the nation of its formidable program with a loss on Saturday afternoon to No. 1 Ohio State (3-0). Entering the contest as a 34-point underdog, the Huskies confounded OSU with stifling defense en route to a narrow 20-13 defeat. As far as national exposure goes, any team that can make J.T. Barrett and Cardale Jones look utterly inept usually receives increased publicity. While Power Five teams may schedule NIU to gain a supposedly easy non-conference win against a school that is more reputable than an FCS
Zeiko Lewis’ career night lifts Eagles over rival Connecticut BY JACK STEDMAN Assoc. Sports Editor When you’re the best player on the field, you can afford to gamble. During Tuesday night’s game against the University of Connecticut (3-1-3, 0-0 AAC), Boston College (5-2-0, 1-1 ACC) midfielder Zeiko Lewis, by far the most talented player on the pitch, took a few risks on his way to scoring two goals in a 3-1 victory. All night , high presssing from the Eagles put the UConn defense on its heels. Looking uncomfortable on the ball, the
Huskies created four chances for BC in the first half off their own mistakes. Lewis, while flying around the field, put himself in the right position to pounce onto two of those misplayed balls. Anticipating a mistake from the defense in the opening minutes, Lewis jumped behind the defensive line and capitalized off a poor back pass to goalie Scott Levene. He only needed two touches to get around the goalie and passed the ball into the net with ease. Later on, at the half-hour mark, the Bermudan national player once again snuck onto the
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ball after a missed header from the Huskies. Toby Ampadu sent a long ball out of the back in the direction of Simon Enstrom, who looked offside. With the defender unable to clear with his head, the ball fell to the oncoming Lewis, who was in on goal and put it away, giving the Eagles a three-goal lead. Lewis rounded off his man of the match performance with an assist to Trevor Davock for the Eagles’ second strike of the game. Following a corner in the 25th minute, the ball fell to Lewis on the endline just outside the box and he put one back into the mixer. The ball found Davock in
traffic, who managed the niftiest of flicks to put the ball far post, past the keeper. Lewis has moved into a central position in the midfield after starting the season out wide. He admitted he has been playing much better now than he was at the start, largely due to the support he has from the two midfielders—usually Henry Balf and Abe Bibas—behind him. With four teammates directly at his back, Zeiko can move into the heart of the defense more freely, and he can take those risks that lead to chances knowAMELIE TRIEU / HEIGHTS STAFF
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Will BC fend off the upset and beat NIU? The Heights’ trio of sports editors debate if BC’s offensive disappearance against FSU was fact or fiction................B6
Junior Zeiko Lewis scored two goals and dominated against Connecticut.
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